The Marine's Dog
by Torsa
Summary: A young woman is taken into custody and decides to help the marines taking out a notorious pirate in the south blue. The marine captain leading the mission is Fujitora himself. Follow Issho's rise from a simple captain to admiral in the marine ranks. This story is about the young woman who first reluctantly joins captain Issho in his first mission.
1. The Marine's Dog

**Hello everyone. I've always found the marines themselves really interesting even though they are often portrayed as the antagonists in One Piece. Since Fujitora showed up ideas for a story have clouded my mind and now I've finally decided to make an attempt at writing it. I will be glad for criticism, since it's my first story and I'm eager to improve myself.**

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Her peaceful stroll in the town had taken an abrupt end, when a marine had recognized her face. He had tried to arrest her, but in a narrow street full of people he hadn't been able to fire his gun. However, a few seconds later the real problem had appeared in form of a marine captain and his whole crew. She ran! She sure as hell wouldn't fight against a captain. With a few quick orders the lieutenant commanders had had the street evacuated and Anwyn was on the run. Behind her she heard the trampling of the ten soldiers pursuing her.

"You won't get away! Give up, Anwyn Devi!"

She spun around raised both hands towards them and shouted: "Hell's Flame!" A ray of fire shot towards the soldiers who quickly threw themselves on the ground to avoid getting burnt to a crisp, giving Anwyn a few more seconds to escape. She ducked beneath market stand and slunk into a narrow street. Panting she covered down close to a barrel. Why were they pursuing her so relentlessly? She had a bounty of 3'000'000, not more. She wasn't a big fish. Rather she was one of the smallest fries in all of South Blue. All she had expected of them was to chase her out of town.

"There you are." A deep voice growled. Someone grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and tossed her head first into the wall. Her nose broke with a crunching sound and she fell onto the rough pavement. Before she could recover her attacker landed a powerful kick in her stomach, sending her flying down the street. The burning sensation in her nose grew to a crippling agony and she screamed out as the flames stopped the bleeding, searing all the broken vessels shut. She crashed into some wooden boxes, but was quickly back on her feet again. The man who was standing in front of her was the lieutenant commander. His tall and muscular frame was towering over her. With a smile on his face he stared down on her. "Anwyn Devi, also known as Devi the Demon. You prove to be a disappointment."

Anwyn growled and crouched down low, reaching for the knives at the small of her back.

"Go on." The lieutenant commander said with a wide smile. "Try to see if you can draw these two blades before I, lieutenant commander Hudson, land another blow."

She looked at his hands trying to guess how fast he would be. He grinned and one of his fingers twitched. Anwyn closed both hands around the knives and at the same time he slammed his knee into her stomach, knocking all the wind out of her. She was flung up into the air, spinning and losing all sense of direction. Before she hit the ground he kicked her in the back. Two of her ribs broke from the impact and another two cracked when she hit another wall. She sagged down to the ground coughing violently. She needed to get out of her quickly. Anwyn took a deep breath and staggered back up. The pain in her chest was crippling. She could already feel how the power of her devil fruit tried to melt her bones together again. She needed to be fast now.

"Smoke screen." When she exhaled a large amount of smoke followed. It was enough to blind her and the lieutenant commander for a while. "Soul Vision!" Instead of the swirling grey mass she spotted the outline of Hudson's silhouette. He had both arms raised ready for defence.

"Try it little girl", he tried to taunt, but ended up in a coughing fit. That was the moment she had waited for. She darted forward. The steel cut deep into Hudson's legs, cutting the tendons at the back of his knees. He screamed out in pain. Swinging his fist around blindly he tried to chase her away, but Anwyn saw the attack as clear as in daylight. She ducked and cut the tendons in his left leg and thrusted her other knife into his tendons under the armpit. He wouldn't come after her again.

He fell to the ground, groaning and trying to stop the heavy blood flow with his hands. "You bitch! I'm going to kill you!"

"Try it. You won't be able to walk for months." She panted and sheathed her knives. She pressed one hand against her ribs, trying to steady the broken bones at least for a bit. The wind was already starting to part the smokescreen. She needed to get away now. The marines were getting closer fast. She already heard the trampling from their boots. She started to run. Her breath coming out in short and painful gasps.

"Where is she?" A marine yelled. Seconds later another voice called out.

"Lieutenant commander Hudson! What happened to you, sir?"

"She attacked me from the back." He groaned.

" _I sure as hell didn't, you bloody piece of filth."_ She thought angrily. He had attacked her from behind and she had defeated him fair and square. Well, if blinding him and cutting his tendons counted as fair. Well in her opinion it did. He was surely twice the weight she was and two feet taller.

"She ran in that direction. Go get her! I don't care if it's alive or dead anymore."

Anwyn turned around another corner coming onto the large market place. All the four directions were blocked by marine soldiers. "There she is! Shoot! Shoot!"

"Smoke Screen!" As she exhaled she threw herself flat on the ground. No need to offer the marines a good target. The smoke wouldn't last long though. Out here in the open the wind would blow it away quickly. "Soul Vision!" All paths were blocked. She saw the faint outline of their bodies moving in each street. She would never get through the marines. They all were firing in her direction now and it would only take one stray bullet to take her down. She raised her head for a second, peering for an escape route. The only way was through one of the houses. She got up on all four and started to run again. The first door she tried was locked, so was the second. Cursing her luck she finally found an open window and crawled through it. Her eyes needed a few seconds to adjust to the darkness inside the house.

A large man in a purple coat was sitting in front of the only door leading out of the house. She couldn't see his face, as it was completely in the shadows, but in his right hand he was holding a stick.

"Old man… I need to get through that door." She said, her voice shaking from exhaustion and distress.

"Why?" He asked calmly. "Are you the one the marines are after?"

"Yes." She replied then decided for a change of tactics "So you better get out of my way, before you'll get hurt old man!"

"You would hurt a blind man, just so you could get away? They don't call you Devi the Demon for nothing." He raised his head and now she could clearly see the scars on his forehead. It went down to both of his eyes. She gulped feeling a pang of guilt, but she didn't have time to apologize.

"SEARCH THE HOUSES! She can't have gotten far." An officer outside the building shouted and Anwyn heard how the marines started to spread out.

"I'm sorry. I…I just want to get away. Nothing more. Please, let me through. I don't want to have anything to do with this. I just want to get away." She stammered glancing over her shoulder to check if the marines were already closing in on her.

"I can't let you through, little girl."

"Damn you! They're going to kill me!"

"Just like you did with those slavers." He replied steadily and started to stand up. "Unfortunately for you, I need to capture you. You'll be the fiftieth criminal I capture this month."

The fiftieth? Then this guy had to be the marine captain, who had decided to cleanse the east blue of criminals. The realization caused a shiver to go down her spine. "C-c-c-captain Issho!" She stuttered. She involuntarily took a few steps back. "I didn't kill those slavers on purpose."

Fujitora didn't say anything. Instead he raised the stick in front of him. She knew what was coming. He was going to attack. She had heard that this captain carried his blade in his cane. Anwyn reached for her knives, but before her fingertips even touched the handles, she saw a flash of steel. A searing pain stabbed through her head and she fell unconscious to the ground.

Once she regained consciousness she was wearing handcuffs and lying on a hard bed in a cell. She was feeling incredibly weak and was barely able to move. "Sea stone." Someone said outside of the door. "Only thing that keeps those damn devil fruit users in check. Otherwise she would have burned this entire ship down by now."

"She crippled Hudson. Surgeon said, they'd need to operate him. Sew the sinews back together. He's not allowed to move." Another man said. "I wonder why the captain wanted to keep her and not hand her off at the marine base."

"He probably feared that Hudson would kill her like he did with the other prisoner."

"So what? She has attacked plenty of marines. Even though she has let them live, the world government won't forget what she did with those traders."

"They weren't traders! They were slavers." She mumbled weakly. "Old man Issho knows the truth."

"Keep quiet. Slavery has been outlawed for over 200 years by the world government. You can tell your stories to the guards of the next prison. You'll spend the rest of your life there." The guard snarled.

"You know nothing! I've worked on a bloody bridge for 7 years until that twat of a trader thought it to be a good idea to sell me to someone else. If I hadn't gotten my hands on that devil fruit I'd still be working somewhere or kept as a pet!" She yelled angrily, then let her head slump down. She was too tired for an argument. The handcuffs of seastone were a real pain too.

"Marines!" A deep voice suddenly called. "You are dismissed. Go to the mess hall and get some food. I'm here to interrogate the prisoner."

"Yes, sir!" The marines saluted and marched away. Anwyn heard how a key was slipped into the lock and the door opened with a slight creak.

"Anwyn Devi. You do not look good." The marine captain grabbed her by the shoulder and sat her upright on the edge of the bed. "It's polite to sit up when you have visitors, but I'll overlook this minor mistake since your hands are cuffed behind your back."

Anwyn flinched from the pain in her ribs, but kept still. The door to the cell was still open, but she had no illusions of escape. She was still feeling dizzy from the blow she had received to the head. Before she would be out of the door, he would just knock her unconscious again. He sat down on the ground in front of her and was holding something that looked like a report. "Anwyn Devi. Age 16. 5 feet tall…"

"5 foot 1." She corrected him with a scowl.

Fujitora continued undeterred, "Red hair, green eyes. Appears younger than she is. Has eaten a devil fruit believed to be a mythical zoan: Type Hellhound. Abilities: Breathing Fire. Throw Fire. Breath Smoke. Can see through and breath in smoke. Weaponry: Uses two long double-edged knives. Bounty 8'000'000 Bellies."

"8'000'000? I thought I was only worth 3 Million."

"The last marine you beat up was a captain like me." His voice was clear and neutral. Not showing any emotions whatsoever. Anwyn couldn't read any emotions in his face either. Just then something perked her mind.

"Uhm, no offense but… how can you read if you're blind?" She asked curiously.

Fujitora raised his head then started to laugh. "You're in a cell and you're asking me that? You're one special kind. The letters are pressed into the paper and it's thicker than the normal sheets too. So all I have to do is stroke with the tips of my fingers over the sheet and I know what's written there."

Anwyn looked at him then nodded. That sounded logical.

"Why did you attack marines in the time between you killed those slavers and now?" He asked getting back to business.

"I never attacked them. I defended myself, when they wanted to arrest me." She muttered, turning her head towards the open door from the cell.

"That's what I thought. You wanted to run after you saw a single marine soldier and besides that at five feet you're too short to be threatening."

"I'm five feet and one inch!" She yelled angrily. "Not five like it says in that stupid report. I've grown a bit over the past few months."

"Still too short to be intimidating." He replied with a grin. "Now to the reason why I'm here. You know… I'm quite the gambler and I find myself in a predicament. Have you ever heard of Rainard? He's also called Rainard the Mad."

"Yeah, who hasn't heard about him? He's recruiting men and has a bounty of 340'000'000 on his head."

"Exactly. So what I'm proposing is rather risky and not very much liked from my superiors. I want to set up a pirate crew and you will be part of it. You will join Rainard and lure him and his crew and all the other pirate crews who have joined him into a trap. Your reward would be my gratitude and an official pardon from the government."

"You want me to face Rainard the Mad? No chance old man. I rather go to prison. He'd gut me the second he sees me." Anwyn replied fearfully. She wasn't about to face Rainard the Mad. She had heard what he had done to the town on Siren-island. Only one survivor and the only reason, he had had been left alive, was that Rainard wanted him to tell the marines about what had happened to the town. Some years in prison seemed to be a much safer option.

The marine captain frowned and heaved deep sigh. "Alright. Then I won't be needing you. You'll be dropped off at the next prison, where you will be spending the next 20 years. 10 more years will also be added as you resisted your capture and another 10 year because you refused to help us."

Anwyns mouth dropped open. "Wha…h-h-h-hold on a second. I thought you'd lock me up for 10 years or so. You can't just quadruple my sentence."

"Your sentence was doubled after the incident with the other marine captain. It will be doubled again for your refusal of cooperation." He replied in a casual tone and started to stand up.

Anwyn stared after him as he stepped out of the cell. "What you're doing is blackmail!"

"I see it as a slight encouragement for you to see my point of view." Fujitora replied and locked the door again, before starting to walk away slowly. A small smile had started to spread on his face. Anwyn sat still on the bed. Totally flabbergasted at the turn of events. She heard the soft "tock, tock, tock" when the blind marine captains stick struck the wooden floor. Slowly it was getting quieter as he got closer to the exit. It stopped and she heard another door creak. Anwyn sprung to her feet and jumped to the door of her cell.

"Alright! Alright! I'm in, old man! Just let me out of his cage."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Fujitora laughed. "I'll let you out once the crew is assembled. For now I'll send you a doctor who'll patch you up a bit."

"And what will my position be on the crew?" Anwyn called out.

"What do you think? You'll be the chore girl. You're a convicted criminal after all." She could still hear him chuckle after he had closed the door. She sat down on the bed and shook her head in dismay. What had she gotten herself into now?

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 **I hope you enjoyed it so far. As you may have guessed the story is set before Issho got his rank as an admiral. I plan on writing about his past and set up a crew for him and for that I need your help.**

 **As I said I need some other ocs for the story, so feel free to submit one. Of course the captains place is taken by Fujitora already.**

 **Please only send me your characters in a pm. Otherwise I won't accept them.**

 **Name:**

 **Epithet:**

 **Gender:**

 **Race (Human, fishman, etc.):**

 **Age:**

 **Rank:**

 **Justice (What type of justice does your character believe in: absolute, lazy, moral):**

 **Personality:**

 **Abilities/Weapon of Choice/Abilities:**

 **Devil Fruit name and powers:**

 **Devil Fruit strengths:**

 **Devil Fruit weaknesses:**

 **Skills (What does your character excel at? Navigating, shooting, cooking?):**

 **Appearance:**

 **History:**

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 **Please leave me a review what you think so far. Some constructive criticism is always good to read and necessary for improvement.**


	2. First Mission (Part 1)

**First Mission**

"You were lucky the captain struck you with the blunt side of the blade." The doctor muttered while taking the bandage off Anwyn's head. She still made a face, when he probed the left side of her skull with his fingers. "The bone is all healed again. So are your ribs. I must say, I have rarely seen such a fast recovery."

"The devil fruit helps me a bit." Anwyn shrugged.

"You're a lucky woman to have such abilities. Now… we have reached our point of destination. Here captain Fujitora will assemble the crew he will use to crush Rainard the Mad." He packed his medicine bag and stood up. "Follow me! The captain wants to see you."

"Sure." She slid from the bed and followed the doctor out into the narrow hallway. Finally she was out of that cell. She grinned and stretched. The sea stone handcuffs had also been taken off from her on the orders from the captain. Having enough room to move well was a fantastic feeling.

Soon enough they reached the captain's cabin, where the doctor announced her arrival to his superior. A bit nervous she stepped through the door into the cabin. She had no idea what she would have to do. Fujitora was standing in front of a large table and was busy studying some reports. His fingers were moving along the lines and Anwyn waited impatiently until he finally spoke up. "One of your comrades is in a pinch. It seems Ingram "The Hawk" Darby has ambushed them. He was travelling in the disguise of smaller pirate ship. However his ship was sunk and he had to seek refuge on a smaller island. The problem is that I can't come for his assistance as his cover will be blown then."

"So you want to send me alone?" She asked bewildered.

"No, fortunately I have a few men which might be able to aid you. Some are mercenaries though and not very fond of marines. Furthermore they refuse to acknowledge your partner as their leader." He sighed and rubbed the stubbles on his unshaven chin. He'd rather send other men. Men he trusted. He didn't have a choice though. He needed to get in some reserves quickly or the pirates might be able to kill one of his crew members. He didn't have a doubt though that his future crewmember would give the pirates a hard time doing it. "Here!" He tossed a small bag with money to her. "Gear up in the town close by. I won't have any of my men walk around in rags and while you're at it, get some food for yourself too. You're all skin and bones and you're casting a bad light on the marines. Nobody should think that we can't take of our men. Dismissed!"

Stunned about the sudden gesture of kindness Anwyn turned on her heels and walked out of the cabin. It seemed this mission wouldn't be that bad after all.

One hour later she was standing at the dockyard. She had tied back her mop of fiery red hair in a short braid. The black trousers she was wearing now, were of much better quality than the rags she had worn before. The woollen green shirt under the brown coat was also much more comfortable than her former linen threadbare tunic. She brushed the tip of her left boot against the back of her calf and looked around. Here she would meet up with the mercenaries and her partner. No one was here yet though.

"HEY! Runt! You Anwyn Devi?!" A rough voice shouted. Anwyn turned slowly around reaching for the knives on the small of her back. About 20 feet in front of her stood Marland Storm. The leader of the group of mercenaries. "Didn't think we'd take any children with us." He laughed and stared down at her. The mercenary was a tall muscular man. Towering at least two feet over Anwyn. "Where's your partner, runt?"

Anwyn growled. "No idea. And don't call me runt."

"Whatever midget." He waved her warning to the side and grinned at his men. "We won't be waiting for him. We'll leave with the tide and the tide doesn't wait for anyone."

Suddenly Anwyn felt a gust of wind against her neck. "The captain wouldn't be happy, if you'd be leaving without me." A voice spoke calmly behind her. Anwyn spun around and found herself facing a man clad completely in black. From the top of his Stetson, his three piece suit, his duster and even his boots everything was black. "I just had to buy a new cloak. Couldn't show up wearing one bloody huge marine sign on my back now, could I?" He turned to Anwyn. "My name's Edward Mercury, also called The Black Fox. You must be Anwyn Devi, also known as Devi the Demon." She nodded and looked up into his face with narrowed eyes.

"Are you my partner?"

"Yes, and the bigmouthed idiot in those rags must be Marland." Edward replied. He looked the mercenary up and down and grinned.

"What's with that look, Mercury?" Marland snarled. "We're no pampered marines. We know how to fight and don't spend half the day picking through dresses." The last remark earned him a hearty laugh from his crewmembers. "Now take your midget and get on the ship. We don't have all day." He turned around and walked away, not even bothering to look if they were following him.

Anwyn reached for her knives, but Edward put a hand on her wrist. "Stay calm." He grinned down at her. "Once we reach the island, we'll let Ingram kick his ass, then take out the pirate and claim his bounty for us. The one who takes down more crewmembers gets four fifth from the bounty. Agreed?"

Anwyn couldn't help but grin at that proposition. "Agreed." She shook his hand.

"Mover your asses!" Marland shouted. His men were already loosening the ropes. "Or your godforsaken captain can show up his contract right into his …"

Before he could finish the sentence Edward had jumped onto deck and Anwyn followed him tightly on his heal. "One word of advice Marland, shut your trap." He said in a calm voice and pulled the cork out of a bottle of sake with his teeth. "A toast to our hopefully successful journey." He turned to Anwyn and two small cups seemed to appear out of nowhere in his left hand, as he went to pour them a fill.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed loudly through the harbour. The sake was spattered on the deck. Shards of the bottle slipped out between Edward's fingers and the marine shook his head in disappointment.

"My ship! My rules! No drinks for you two!" Marland snapped and stuck the still smoking gun back into his belt. This time Anwyn had her knives pulled out and the air around her started flickering from heat, but before she could do something rash, Edward stepped in front of her, while licking of his fingers.

"That was a damn good bottle you wasted there. You will give me another one someday."

"Like hell I will you god damn marine. Now you two! Get under deck, before I decide to just go away with the money I've received for this idiotic mission." Marland yelled.

Anwyn sheathed her knives, gave Marland one last angry glare, before she walked towards the stairs leading down to the lower decks. This was going to be a long trip.

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It took them one week to reach the island. All Anwyn did during that time was raising or lowering the sail, sleep and train. Thanks to the regular food and the movement she was finally gaining some muscles. Edward watched her while she was doing her exercises and sometimes gave her a few tips.

"How did you actually get behind me a few days ago? All I felt was a gust of wind, then you were there." She asked on the seventh day. Edward was lying on his back on a bench enjoying the gentle roll of the ship. Somehow Mercury had gotten his hands on a whiskey bottle and had emptied before tossing it into the water.

"The technique is called Soru and it's one of the Rokushiki techniques." He replied drunkenly then turned his attention towards the sky. A single bird was soaring high above them then it turned away and flew into some clouds. "I had to train a lot to master it."

"I know one of them, but not Soru, never heard of it. Eifion just deemed it necessary to teach me the Kami-e." She replied absent minded and rubbed her face dry with a towel.

Edward's gaze immediately turned towards her. "Eifion?" He asked as if he hadn't heard right. "Eifion Cely?"

"Yeah that's his name." She shrugged not understanding Edward's sudden interest in the man. "What about him? You know him?"

"He's a former member of the CP9, but turned renegade. He joined the revolutionaries and has a bounty of 90 million bellies on his head." He replied sitting up. He swung his legs around so he was facing her. "Where did you meet him?"

"Right after I killed the slavers. More than two years ago. Took me in for 2 months. Then he had to go."

"Bloody hell! Don't go around and tell that to anyone else. Lucky you, I'm this shit-faced. I know that you were or still are a criminal but I didn't think you'd be friends with Eifion Cely. God damn." He continued to mutter some curses then stood up. "You still got any contact to him?"

"No. Haven't heard from him for more than two years. I just told you." She snapped. She hadn't known that guy had been a revolutionary.

"Alright, alright. I was just asking. No need to get snappy."

"Land!" A voice called from the crow's nest interrupting their little argument. "Two miles east!"

Anwyn turned to look and soon spotted the island. It was larger than she had thought. Edward walked up next to her. "The pirates will probably try to stop us from getting onto the island." He said and turned to look up at the sky again. "Don't let your guard down. Ingram has a bounty of 32'000'000 on his head." The bird had appeared again. It was circling above them then it flew back to the island. "We'll get company soon." Edward said grimly and looked towards the island.

"You mean that was him?"

"Yeah. Where did you think his nickname is coming from? He has eaten a zoan devil fruit. He's a birdman. His favourite way of attacking is tossing cannonballs at his enemies from way up in the air. Yeah, there you can see him coming back." He pointed up in the sky and he was right. The bird had appeared again. It was flying right below the clouds and it was carrying something that looked like a large net. Edward reached for his gun, but then shook his head. "He's too far away and the wind is also against me. Can you swim Anwyn Devi?"

"Stupid question. I've eaten a devil fruit. You've forgotten that?"

"Right, then grab a barrel and jump. Marland! We're getting company. Look up!" He shouted with a wide grin and helped Anwyn into a barrel.

"Oh dammit." She cursed as she curled herself together. "Edward I really think this is a dumb idea." Just then the first cannonball hit the deck and the explosion almost flung themselves into the water. Sharp wooden splinters flew through the air and one of the mercenaries fell to the ground crying out in agony. In the next seconds the cannonballs were just raining down around them. "What the hell are you waiting for? Toss me in!" Anwyn shouted.

"Suddenly so eager?" He grinned and just before he put the lid back on she flipped him off. She felt how he hoisted the barrel up into the air then she was suddenly airborne. When she hit the water the back of her head smashed against the hard wood of the barrel.

Edward had jumped after the barrel the second it had hit the water. The ship had already started to sink. The mercenaries were in panic and pushed each other over in their attempts to reach the lifeboats first. Marland was standing on the quarterdeck shouting orders at his men, but no one was paying attention. Mercury didn't bother much. He grabbed a hold of the barrel and started swimming towards the island.

"You alright in there?" He asked knocking against the lid.

"I'll be glad when I got some land back under me feet and the barrel is leaking." Came the muffled reply. He laughed and continued to swim towards the shore. Once he reached the coast he rolled the barrel up the shore ignoring the foul language coming out of the barrel as a reaction to his new manhandling. Suddenly the lid was kicked open and Anwyn crawled out on all fours.

"You enjoyed that! Admit it! I know you enjoyed that!" She grumbled and let herself fall flat down on the beach.

"I can't deny that." He grinned. She gave him a dark look and took off her boots to pour some water out of them. Edwards smile faded quickly when he spotted the scars around her exposed ankles. She saw him staring and frowned.

"Don't say anything. I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright, alright." He raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Didn't mean to offend you."

"I'm not offended. Just not in the mood to talk about it." She replied and put her boots back on. "Now… what should we do? We're stranded on this island."

"We'll do what were here for. Go looking for our man." Edward replied while brushing some sand of his clothes. "It shouldn't take too long. The pirates have probably rooted him out already and he's hiding somewhere where he can hold them off on his own."

"You think he's up in the mountains?" She asked and stretched herself. The barrel hadn't exactly been comfortable.

"Yes, I think the best thing is if we split up. I'll go along the coast and see if I can root out the main camp of the pirates while you head up into the mountains to see if you can find our man."

"What's his name anyways?"

"He's called Burne Tempest. He's a commander and doesn't particulary like criminals. So take my advice and don't talk to him on your own. There aren't many people who know that you're on this mission."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it. Trying to root out all grammar mistakes took me most of the time, but I think I got rid of the most.**

 **Edward Mercury has been submitted by theDarkRyder. Thanks for the character!**

 **Burne Tempest has been submitted by kingkatsu, also thanks a lot!**

 **As the story moves on I will try to work out their personalities as best as possible.**

 **OC's are still needed so feel free to submit yours.**


	3. First Mission (Part 2)

Edward looked after her as she walked into the forest. She was a strange one. At first sight he had mistaken her for a young man. She was so skinny that the only description fitting her was raw-boned. There was not an ounce of unnecessary fat on her body. It was not entirely in her favour. She was missing her female attributes almost entirely. He sighed and shook his head. She was too young anyway. Hopefully Fujitora had chosen a pretty woman for their mission too.

He looked up into the sky and saw Ingram still circling over the smoking wreck of their ship. Edward grinned. He already had an idea how he would get that man into reach of his gun. He walked calmly into the forest and continued his way along the coast. The leaves would shield him from Ingram's view until he had found the pirates and their camp.

It didn't take him long. The men were loud and the smoke from their campfires were visible from a long distance.

"Didn't think it would be that easy to take him down." One of the pirates grinned. "After all he had obviously eaten a devil fruit."

"He's not dead yet and 15 of your lads have disappeared in that cave. I think that's bloody far from taking him down." Another one snarled while cradling a broken arm.

"Relax. The captain stabbed him in the back with a poisoned spear. The fog really helped us out in that point." The first one replied and took a swig from his jug of beer. "He'll be dead in a few hours at latest." He added laughing. "If we show Rainard a dead devil fruit user he will surely accept us in his crew."

Edward clenched his jaw. He could already imagine how Ingram had managed to defeat Burne. Hiding high up in the fog he had waited until the ships engaged each other. Burne must have flown up in the air to attack the enemy ship and to protect his own crew. Ingram had dived down in that moment and rammed the poisoned spear into his opponent's back.

"Maybe, but that other guy should've been dead two days ago. And he was still able to fight off 15 men at once."

"Don't be such a drag. As soon as the captain is done with the ship he sighted he'll take care of him and we'll sail with Rainard. Imagine all the riches." He laughed and most of the other pirates joined in. Edward leaned on a tree and listened carefully. He had already spotted the first mate of the pirates. He recognized the face from a wanted poster. Broad jaw, broken nose and short brown hair. Ross Buckler was his name and he had a bounty of 17'000'000 on his head. Edward sighed. Why did those guys have to camp in front of the ship? Now he had to fight to capture it. Suddenly there was a loud crash just below the top of the mountain and flames flickered up. The forest had started to burn. The faint echo of screams reached his ears and he grinned. It looked like the first stage of his plan was working out well.

 **A few minutes earlier**

It hadn't taken her a lot of time to reach the top of the mountains. However she was smart enough to stay below the trees. She didn't want to engage Ingram just yet. From her little hideout she had spotted a small group of pirates aiming a canon at a small cave.

"We should just fire the cannon at the cave and then it's over already." Said a pirate with a huge brown moustache.

"The captain told you why we can't do that. He wants the body."

"We don't even know if that guy has a bounty on him."

"Rainard will know. He knows almost every criminal in the South Blue." His comrade stopped the moustache man before he could say more. "The captain will take care of him. See! He already destroyed the ship that was heading this way. He will just pick off the survivors then come to us."

Anwyn looked into the direction the pirate pointed and spotted the huge bird circling over the smoking wreck. She frowned. Where there any survivors? The mercenaries had treated them like garbage, but it still felt wrong to leave them like that. Well they would probably have done the same. However, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't swim, nor fly. So instead of focusing on problems she couldn't solve she should focus on the one ahead of her. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She hadn't used that technique often. The air started to flicker from the heat around her hands and she drew her knives. She was ready. Anwyn took a deep breath and gripped her weapons tight. Maybe this would help to earn her a pardon from Fujitora. Edward had told her not to talk to Burne on her own, but this was a too good opportunity to waste. The pirates were all either looking at their captain or at the cave.

She ran. Her steps were light and quick. Leaves brushed past her face as she pushed through the bushes. She was getting closer fast!

"What was that?" The moustached pirate asked and reached for his sword. However before he could draw it Anwyn darted out between the trees and slammed her fist straight into his face.

"Hellfire!" A small explosion sent the pirate crashing back into the rocks next to the cave. A circle of fire erupted around Anwyn's fist and had the rest of the pirates staggering backwards shielding their faces with their hands and arms.

"What did you do with him?" One of them shouted. "You bitch! We'll get you for this!" He pulled a gun and Anwyn took a deep breath.

She ducked below the bullet and exhaled through her mouth. "Hell's Breath!" She didn't aim for the pirates but instead for the cannonballs and the cannon itself.

"No, don't you will…" The pirate couldn't finish the sentence.

The explosion sent him, Anwyn and the rest of the crewmembers in front of the cave flying back into the forest. Anwyn slammed with the back against a tree, before sinking to the ground with a groan. Maybe that hadn't been a good idea after all. "God dammit." She cursed and got back up. Her knees were feeling slightly wobbly. She shook her head to get rid of the ringing in her ears and stumbled through the forest back to the cave. Two trees and a few bushes had caught fire. The flames touched her skin, but she didn't bother. Since she had eaten the devil fruit fire hadn't been able to harm her anymore. One of the more positive side effects. She looked at the large crate where the cannon had been standing before and shook her head. Definitively not one of her smartest ideas.

Suddenly she heard a groan from within the cave. "Why do you pirates attack each other? Even I though you would have more sense than doing that." A deep voice rumbled. Out of the cave stepped a tall muscular man. He had pitch black spicked up hair and yellow eyes. His white tank top was bloodied and torn, same as his black sleeveless coat. His green pants weren't in a much better shape. "Who are you? No, I recognize your face. You're Anwyn Devi." He took a step forward and suddenly he was growing horns and a trident like tail.

"Listen now. I'm here to rescue you. Captain Fujitora sent me and…"

"Demon Spin!" He spun around and suddenly there was a wave of fire flying towards her. She stood still and let it hit her. At the same time she activated her own devil fruit. All she felt was a strong warm wind. The attack fanned on the flames behind her and set fire to two more trees. Flames flickered around her as she threw her knives on the ground before Burne.

"I'm no enemy, commander. I'm here to help." She raised the flat of her hands against him. Just now she spotted the broken shaft of the spear sticking out of his back. "You're wounded you need help." She took a step towards him but he aimed the tip of his tail against her.

"Stay away Anwyn." He muttered. His voice was sluggish and he was visibly close to the end of his tether. "I don't trust criminals. Where's the proof that Captain Fujitora sent you?"

"Commodore Edward Mercury is my companion. He's scouting the pirates' base right now." She replied and let the flames around her die down a bit to prove that she meant no harm. Burne studied her face carefully then nodded. The horns along with the tail disappeared and he took a stumbling step forward. Bending down he grabbed the pistol from the moustached pirate's belt and turned back to Anwyn. "Pull out the spear. I'll aim a gun at your chest while you do that. If you try to push it in deeper I'll pull the trigger."

"Alright." Anwyn let the flames die off completely and went up to him. "Just don't pull the trigger by accident, because this will hurt like hell." She frowned up at him, causing him to force a small smile.

"Don't worry I won't. I have a feeling I can trust you. I just want to make sure." He placed the barrel against her chest, then turned slowly towards her. The spear had hit him in an angle, cutting a deep graze into his flesh before going deep into his body. He must have tried to dodge it. She put a foot on his back and grabbed the shaft with both hands. The gun pressed against her chest trembled for a second, but was forced still again.

"Take a deep breath. It feels like it's wedged between two bones. I'll pull on 3."

"Just get on with it." He forced out through gritted teeth.

"Alright." She tightened her grip and pulled. Her knuckles whitened and she felt how it moved a bit, before getting stuck again. She cursed and pulled harder while pressing with her leg against his back to gain some more leverage. With a sickening sound the spear tip was wrenched out of Burne's back, but the commander didn't utter a single sound. Anwyn tossed the weapon aside.

"Bandages!" Burne grabbed the moustached pirate's shirt and pulled it off him. "Cut it into stripes and tie it around my chest."

Anwyn simply nodded and started working. The red spot on Burne's back was rapidly growing. With one knife she sliced the shirt into stripes then tied them around Burnes chest. It slowed down the blood flow a bit but didn't stop it completely. "I need to make more." She said and looked around. One of the pirates was lying below a smouldering tree. He wouldn't need his shirt anymore. She picked up both of her knives and started to walk over to him.

"Anwyn! Look out!" Without thinking she threw herself on the ground and suddenly she heard the fluttering of large wings, before someone uttered a cackling laugh.

"You not dead yet? You sure are one persistent bastard!" Anwyn looked up and saw a thin but tall man flying above them. He had two large feathered wings sprouting from his back and in his hands he held a long spear. That had to be Ingram. A small spot of blood appeared on his left leg and Ingram looked down with a frown.

"Almost got you there." Burne chuckled and Anwyn spotted the spear sticking high up in one of the trees. Burne must had thrown it after Ingram to keep him from impaling her. She got up on all four again and ran for the unconscious pirate. Ingram circled above them waiting for another opportunity to strike. Anwyn stripped the shirt of the man and tucked the piece of cloth into her belt. "Why don't you come down Ingram? Come and fight me on the ground and from the front. You won't be lucky enough to stick another spear into my back. Or are you too scared to fight fairly?"

Ingram aimed the tip of his spear against Burne. "Why don't you come up to me? Or is your wing still too sore?" He mocked then laughed cruelly. "I think I will let my men take care of you instead. Get them Ross!"

Anwyn looked up and barely managed to dodge the blade, which aimed for her neck. "I'm going to gut you, you little tramp!" He yelled and swung his sabre at her. She blocked it with the knuckledusters on her knife and tried to stab him with the right. He parried her blow with a small steel buckler. Her knife slid of the edge and he slammed the small shield into her face. She was flung back, and activated her devil fruit powers. Flames surrounded her body. She looked around and cursed. There were about 20 men pouring out of the forest.

Burne gritted his teeth and the horns started to grow out of his head again. He would need to force his way through this. The girl was too inexperienced to fight against so many opponents at once. She dodged another blow from Ross and suddenly the air around her hands started to flicker from heat.

"Hellfire!" The knuckledusters hit the steel shield and the small explosion sent Ross flying back into woods. "Hell's Breath!" She breathed a large amount of fire against the oncoming pirates, forcing them backwards, but the attack didn't have much of a reach. He needed to assist her. Burne charged the pirates with a roar, ignoring the searing pain in his back. The first pirate fell victim to a right uppercut. He then dived in amongst the pirates fighting back to back with Anwyn.

Anwyn kicked another pirate in the face sending him unconscious to the ground. She turned around just in time to see Ingram dive down at her. He had the full bird form now, however his arms were still there. He was fast!

"Hawk's Dive!"

"Kami-e!" Her body went limp. The tip of the spear grazed her side, but the small wound was immediately seared shut by her devil fruit powers. She hissed from the pain and counterattacked, but Ingram was already long gone. He circled above them looking for another chance to strike.

Edward watched the fight intently. He had knocked out Ross when he flew past him and crashed into a tree. No need for him to return to the fight. A few stun-bullets to the joints and one to the head been enough to take him down. Edward had tied him up and concentrated on the fight again. He was constantly tracing pirates with his gun who were trying to get into Anwyn's and Burne's blind spot. These two had done exactly what he had anticipated. They weren't exactly the quiet types and Anwyn lacked patience. He had been sure she would engage the pirates on her own. She wanted to prove herself worthy of the pardon. And Burne… well he didn't have to give much thought about him. If that man had been in better shape he would have tried to take on the whole crew by himself.

However the most important thing was to get Ingram down. If he would get to Rainard he would recognize them and that would spoil their whole plan. So he needed to get him into a position where Ingram had no chance at all. Being the coward he was Ingram might flee if Edward also attacked his crewmembers. He blinked some sweat out of his eye. He didn't like to wait like this. Anwyn scuttled to the side when another pirate attacked her. Her moves weren't precise and she was moving her weapons like a drunkard. Unpredictable and dangerous, but not very effective. She still needed a lot of training. He glanced up at Ingram who still circled above his crew and their two opponents. Suddenly he dived down and aimed his spear at Burne's back. This was his chance!

"Soru!" He appeared next to Burne and aimed his gun at Ingrams charging form. The pirate captain's eyes went wide and he flapped his wings trying to change direction. It was useless. "Flaming Dragon!" Edward grinned and pulled the trigger. As soon as the bullet left the barrel it exploded and a flaming dragon engulfed Ingram and several of his crewmembers.

Burne was suddenly aware of the figure standing next to him and swung his arm at him, knocking him clean aside. In the next second Ingram crashed into the ground behind him.

"What the hell was that for you overgrown idiot? I just saved your life!" Edward yelled getting back up on his feet.

"Ah… sorry. I didn't recognize you. I thought you were one of them. For the next time warn me before you do something like that."

"Guys! I need help!" Anwyn shouted while dodging two swords at once.

"Alright, alright!" Edward grumbled and aimed his gun in her direction, before pulling the trigger quickly three times. The three remaining pirates fell to the ground groaning.

"Stun bullets." He explained at Anwyn's confused expression.

Ingram groaned and tried to stand up. Burned turned towards the fallen pirate and his hands formed to large fists.

"He's all yours Burne." Edward grumbled.

"No wait!" Ingram stuttered fear spreading across his blackened face.

"I think I owe you a bit for what you did to me two days ago." Burne growled and cracked his knuckles, before raising his fists. Anwyn didn't turn away. It would surely be entertaining to watch. There were a flurry of punches and Ingrams groans which followed shortly after Burne's fists connected with his body. One especially solid strike knocked the pirate finally unconscious. Anwyn was impressed with the result. Most of Ingrams teeth were missing and his face was badly bruised. He was still alive though.

"Let's try giving our guys a signal. Maybe the captain sent a ship after us. I'd hate to sail all the way back on my own." Edward raised his gun and pointed it towards the sky. A bright red flare soared high up into the air.

"Where's Ross?" Burne asked curiously and looked around.

"Lying below some trees. Your blow dented his shield badly, Anwyn." He complimented her and tucked his gun back into the holster. Anwyn grinned proudly. "You two make a pretty good team. Both of you can't be harmed by fire and you can use fire yourself."

"What type of devil fruit did you eat, Anwyn?" Burne asked and slumped down on the ground, using one of the knocked out pirates as a seat. The wound was starting to take its toll now. Anwyn quickly rushed over him. While cutting a shirt into stripes she started to explain.

"I ate a mythical Zoan, type Hellhound. That's what the marines say at least." She shrugged and started to tie the makeshift bandages around his chest. "Yourself?"

"Similar to yours, but mine is a demon type."

"The Devil and his pup." Edward scoffed and earned an angry glare from his two comrades. "Come on. I think I can see a sail on the horizon. Let us just hope it's not another pirate crew. I already look forward on spending the money we get from their bounties."

"You barely did anything." Anwyn accused and sheathed her knives. "Besides we had an agreement. Whoever takes down more pirates gets four fifths from their bounties. I took down the five in front of the cave and seven more during the fight. That's twelve. You only got Ingram, Ross and three more. That means I win."

"Now, now! Hold it! I took down Ingram! That's the captain and I also took out Ross, who's second in charge. The captain counts at least as 10 and the second in command as five." He replied tersely. He had almost forgotten about their little bet.

"No way! You can't just add rules in hindsight!" Anwyn shouted.

"Hate to interrupt, but I took down 15 in the cave and 9 more during the fight outside. I outbid you both." Burne butted in.

"You weren't part of the deal!" Anwyn and Edward shouted in unison.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it. If you spot any mistakes just point them out and I'll be happy to correct them.**

 **One more oc has been submitted by Inukamahira.**

 **I'm still in need of 4 more ocs, so feel free to submit yours.**


	4. A New Comrade

**A new comrade**

Burne postponed their discussion about the bounty when he fainted. "Oh… I forgot about the bandages." Anwyn mumbled guiltily and immediately set to work. "Can you hold him up for me? He's quite heavy." She asked Edward. The older marine simply grabbed Burne by the shoulders and set him straight up, so that Anwyn could tie the bandages around his ribcage. Burne didn't wake up, but groaned. "Now that's better." She said and admired her work. It looked a bit sloppy, but at least he had stopped bleeding.

"Seems like we have to build a stretcher for him. He needs to be still or the wound will open up again." Edward grumbled. "Lend me one of your knives then go down to the shore and look out for the ship. We need some professional doctor here."

Anwyn nodded and tossed him one of her knives.

"Be careful. I don't want to rescue you a second time today." Edward grumbled and started to cut some smaller twigs. Anwyn simply snorted at his comment and headed down towards the coast. The ship that was coming was fast, but she could already see the sign of the marines on its sails. She sighed with relief. She was already tired enough from the fight with the pirates. There was no need to overexert herself. After all she was just the chore girl. Her higher-ups should be the one fighting, not her. A good distance from the shore the marine ship let the anchor go and came to a halt. Anwyn sat down on the sand and watched how the few sailors started to work. There weren't that many, but they were very effective. In less than a minute a small boat had been lowered into the water and three men and two women boarded it. Two of the men immediately started rowing while the other three persons looked towards Anwyn who was still sitting on the beach. The pirate ship was to her left as was the abandoned camp of the pirates.

Soon enough the small boat beached and Anwyn got back up on her feet. "Hello. Anwyn Devi, freshly recruited chore girl of the marines, at your service."

The tallest of the men walked right up to her and stared down on her intensely, not even making the slightest attempt to reply. He had dark brown spiky hair. Below his knee-short blue pants she could spot the tattoo of a badger on his left leg. A bit confused she looked up to meet his eyes, allowing her gaze to travel over his body. He didn't appear to be particularly muscular, but that didn't have to mean that he was weak. His eyes however seemed to stare right down into her soul. She gulped. It was quite intimidating having him tower over her like that.

"Uhm… hello?" She bent a bit to the side to have a look at the other marines. "Is he mute?" She asked curiously, causing the taller of the women to laugh out loud.

"I'm Commander Anaguma Misuteri! So stand to attention while a higher rank is addressing you!" He bellowed furiously. Anwyn flinched at the loud booming voice.

"I don't know how to do that. I've only been in the marines for about a week and I was immediately sent out on this mission." She replied defensively.

"Oh… is that so." Anaguma said obviously befuddled about having a recruit not knowing how to stand attention. "I'll show you. First you have to…"

"I hate to interrupt, but one of my…"

"QUIET!" Anaguma shouted inching very close to her, almost pressing his face against hers. "You never interrupt when a senior officer is speaking!" He straightened up and showed what she had to do. "Now! Put your heels together! Straighten your back! Salute and present yourself!" Each of his orders was punctuated with a flawless depiction of the movements. "Commander Anaguma Misuteri. Commanding officer of this marine training ship." He looked down at her. "Now you!"

Anwyn pressed her heels tightly together, straightening her back like she had swallowed a stick and saluted with her left hand.

"You salute with your left hand?! What incompetence! You always salute with your right hand! Didn't you pay attention when I shoved it to you?" He roared. Anwyn quickly corrected her mistake. Meanwhile the two women and one of the men walked over to the camp of the pirates. The taller woman inspected the flag closely then tossed it into the fire.  
Meanwhile, Anwyn was growing more and more annoyed with the man in front of her. He was bossing her around, barely even allowing her to breathe, correcting the slightest of mistakes in her stance while one of her comrades was bleeding out on top of the mountain.

"At ease!" Anaguma finally said after he had inspected her stance thoroughly.

"Finally." Anwyn muttered. "One of my comrades is…"

"You're not allowed to speak!" He ordered. "First you have to present yourself!"

"SHUT UP YOU BLOODY IDIOT! ONE OF MY COMRADES IS BLEEDING OUT ON TOP OF THAT MOUNTAIN!" She yelled literally burning with rage as her emotions had activated her devil fruit powers.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? Inoshishi, love, go up and see what you can do for that poor fellow."

"Sure thing!" She replied then added, "But first I want to take a look at that little chore girl."

Anwyn took a deep breath in order to calm herself and deactivated her devil fruit again. She looked from the tall woman then to the marine commander in front of her. Did he just call her love? That woman didn't look particularly loving at all. She was tall, even taller than the commander and very well-muscled. When the woman had turned towards them Anwyn had also spotted a tattoo of a boar on a bomb on the left side of her throat. The pistols on her hips and the belt with the explosives over her shoulder didn't make her any less threatening either. She bent down and examined Anwyn closely. "You're hurt as well." She stated and looked down towards Anwyn's side.

"Just a burn. I'm quite used to them." The girl shrugged. "My companion needs your help more than me."

She nodded and walked off into the forest. One of the marine soldiers followed her tightly on her heels. Suddenly Anwyn stumbled a step forward. The world had gone blurry for moment. Confused she blinked her eyes. The wound in her side was throbbing more than usually, if she was honest.

"I haven't allowed you to move yet." Anaguma growled, "Back into attention!"

"I'm not feeling well." Anwyn reached for the wound at her side and frowned. The spear which had wounded Burne had been poisoned. Had the one that grazed her been poisoned too? She peeled the torn cloth to the side and inspected the wound. The edge of the wounds had turned purple. That wasn't a good sign. She had seen similar things when she had been on the bridge. That was a gangrene. She gulped and the world started spinning. She looked up at the commander who also looked down at her wound, frowning visibly. "The spear was poisoned." She mumbled before taking a stumbling step forward. Anaguma caught her by the shoulder. "Burne. You have to help Burne."

"USAGI!" The commander bellowed and at once the younger woman was at his side. "Take Anwyn to the ship. The weapon was poisoned. Alert the surgeon then check Ingrams ship. Maybe you can find out what poison he used. I'll go and help my wife." He ran off into the forest as well, leaving Anwyn alone in the company of Usagi and the other marine.

"Let me help you to the ship. Maybe we've got something which can help you." She said and picked Anwyn up without waiting for a reply.

"H-h-hold it, I can walk." Anwyn slurred sounding as if she had too much to drink. "You need to help Burne first. You hear me? Yeah you hear me. He had that spear stuck in him for two days."

"We will. Now rest." Usagi laid her down into the smaller boat and the last thing that Anwyn saw was two different coloured eyes staring down at her. The right grey and the left brown, but both full of concern.

 **One day later**

She woke up in a bathtub filled with warm water. Startled she tried to sit upright, but the water made her feel incredibly weak. A clean bandage had been wrapped around her stomach and the wound had stopped throbbing as well. Slowly she managed to sit up and crawl out of the water. She fell heavily on the floor and wrapped herself in a tower. Her clothes lay neatly folded on a chair next to the door. After thoroughly drying herself she slipped back into them and headed out on. She felt how the ground rolled gently and realised at once, that she was on a ship.

"You're up." A voice suddenly called out behind her. Anwyn spun around and crouched down low, as if she was preparing to defend herself against an attack. A confused frown appeared on Usagi's face. She held out a tray towards Anwyn. On it was a large bowel filled to the brim with noodle soup. "Take it then follow me up on deck. Edward is up there as well enjoying his lunch."

"Where's Burne?"

"He's still in bed. The poison almost killed him. It's a miracle he was still able to fight."

"Why didn't it take him down more quickly? I was only grazed and fainted a couple of hours later."

"You're shorter and weigh about one third of what he does. Plus you're half starved. It takes much less poison for you than for him." Usagi replied then handed the tray to Anwyn.

"And why was I in a bathtub?" She asked dumbfounded, while following Usagi down the hallway.

"You activated your devil fruit in your sleep. You burned up your bed and scorched a good part of your room. The only solution to keep you from burning down the ship was to put you in some water. You were screaming the whole time. These dreams you had must have been awful." She looked over her shoulder and directed a pointed glance towards Anwyn's ankles.

Anwyn shuddered involuntarily as Usagi's voice called up the old memories. She quickly pushed them to the side and distracted herself with taking a good look at Usagi. The woman had long brown hair with some strands sticking out in every direction, giving her a look as if she had freshly gotten out of bed. She was quite tall compared to herself and had a feminine figure. She was in the typical marine uniform, but was wearing a leather jacket over it, that seemed to be a bit too big for her. Also she had strapped two Tessen to her back.

"Thanks for the soup." She said a bit too late and started to eat while walking. Only after the first bite she realized how hungry she really was. She stuffed the rest down, before they even reached the door and got out of deck. "Is there more?" She asked hopefully.

Usagi grinned. "There should be. Kitchen is right over there."

After helping herself to a second, third and fourth serving as well, Anwyn settled down next to Burne on deck. Without a word he reached to his belt and handed her the knife she had borrowed him. She thanked him with a sparse nod, then closed her eyes. She was full and tired. The burn at her side was still throbbing a bit, but it was nothing compared to before.

"How did you get those scars on your ankles?" Usagi suddenly asked.

Anwyn opened one eye and glared at her. Edward looked up at the younger marine officer, gesturing to her to stop her from asking questions.

"What?" Usagi asked confused. "I just asked how she got the scars. They look rather nasty. She never said, she didn't want to talk about it." Edward slapped his hand against his forehead.

"She doesn't generally reply to any of your questions. That means, that she doesn't want to talk about it." Edward explained.

"Oh." She pondered on that bit of information for a second. "Why?"

"Because I'd like to forget what happened." Anwyn replied. "They aren't particularly happy memories. You get scars like these if you wear chains for years. They chafe at your ankles." She looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes. "I escaped about two years ago and only because I got the devil fruit." She got to her feet and walked away. She needed some solitude right now.

Edward looked after Anwyn then at Usagi. "You really don't take hints very well."

"Oh shut up." She grumbled. "I meant no offense." She added then switched the subject. "She was a wanted person right. Her bounty was 8 Million if I remember correctly."

Edward nodded. "Yes. Fujitora picked her, as she is already widely known even though she doesn't have a high bounty. She'll be part of our cover, when we try to infiltrate Rainard's fleet." He turned his gaze up at Usagi and grinned. "You're also part of our mission as far as I am informed, right?"

"Yes. I got the information just after my promotion to ensign." She mumbled and looked after Anwyn who currently climbed up towards the crow's nest. "Do you have any idea what happened to her?"

"I've got a bit of background information. She was enslaved on the Sabaody Archipel when she was six. After that her trace disappears until two years ago. A group of slavers who travelled in disguise as merchants were slaughtered. The surviving slaves said some kind of demon had attacked the slavers and killed them. It tried to attack them as well, but the iron cages in which they were looked up kept them safe."

"How old was she then?"

"Fourteen as far as I know." Edward replied. "Fujitora somehow got wind of her story and that's why he hunted her down. He obviously wants to give her a chance to get a normal life again."

"Did he tell you that?" Usagi asked.

"Didn't have to. I think it's rather obvious. Now, why did you join Fujitora's little mission. You're quite young yourself."

"It seems like a great opportunity to earn myself a promotion." She grinned, then bumped him with the tip of her boots. "You up for some training?"

Edward looked up at her, shook his head, then demonstratively pulled his hat down over his eyes. "I've had my share of training, in the past few days. Now it's time to rest."

"You've been resting since we've left the island." She exclaimed. "A commander can't seriously be that lazy."

"Don't underestimate me." He replied then yawned. "As I am of superior rank, I order you to leave me alone and only to wake me up for dinner." Edward added then dozed off.

 **Four days later at the training grounds**

Anwyn raised her knives and eyed Usagi intently. She had no idea how that woman would be fighting. She was holding one war fan in each hand, but they were still closed. She needed to be careful. She had no idea how Usagi would use this weapons. Usagi herself also looked difference. Her features had turned hard from concentration. There was no sign of her usual friendly, easy-going nature.

Suddenly, the marine officer darted forward. Her right hand darted forward, aiming the blunt tip of her weapon against Awyn's face. The younger girl jumped back and managed to dodge the blow. She tried to knock Usagi's wrist aside with her knuckledusters, but the older marine officer twisted the war fan in her grip immediately. The result was that Anwyn slammed her own wrist into her opponent's weapon. She hissed from the sudden pain and tried to jump back. Usagi followed her flicking one of the war fans open right in front of Anwyn's face, effectively blocking the younger woman's view. Next thing Anwyn felt was something impact with her temple, when Usagi slapped her with the second war fan. The blow wasn't hard, but Anwyn reflexively closed her eyes. In the next second she found herself lying on the ground, one arm painfully twisted behind her arm. Usagi tapped her lightly on the top of the head with one of the war fans as a sign, that she would easily be able to knock her out if she wanted to.

"Alright, alright I yield." Anwyn grumbled and Usagi let her go. The serious look disappeared on her face and she grinned as she helped Anwyn back on her feet.

"You should work on your technique. You trust your devil fruit too much."

"I know, I know. Edward has also been onto me. Did you know that he had me stand up at 5 in the morning to train? He sent me running for four hours before breakfast. He himself was sitting in a chair, still half asleep. Occasionally he looked up to check if I was still running, but that was it. I don't get it how he can be that strong, even though he's such a lazy ass."

"He's trying to teach you Soru, you do realize that?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, I know, I know." She grumbled. "But we're stuck here until Burne's back on his feet."

"Which is exactly why you should use the time training. We're up against Rainard. If we make one mistake, we'll end up dead." Usagi said a frown appearing on her face. "Despite that we also need to wait for the photographer."

"Photographer?" Anwyn asked bewildered. "What do we need a photographer for? Do you want to take some pictures during our mission? It's no sightseeing tour! We're up against Rainard! You just said yourself, if we'll make one mistake we'll end up dead."

"The photographer is for us, you little idiot!" Edward muttered. He had sneaked up behind Anwyn causing her to give a startled jump, when he started talking. "We need wanted posters and Fujitora got his hands on the most famous one of the marine photographers. His name's Attach."

"Attach? Never heard of that guy. And don't sneak up on me! I might accidentally stab you next time." She growled.

"You wouldn't even get close enough to stab me." Edward grinned and tapped her on the head. She slapped away his hand and glared at him furiously.

"Back to business." Usagi reminded them. "Attach is only famous for those who know him." She started to explain, but was interrupted by Anwyn.

"I thought that applied to every famous person." She muttered. "If no one knows you then you're not famous. Simple as that."

"She's got a point on that, you know." Edward added smugly.

Usagi blushed with anger and whacked Anwyn on the back of the head with her war fan. "Shut up and listen!"

"Hey! Why didn't you hit him as well?" Anwyn complained rubbing the back of her head.

"He's my superior." Usagi replied, "You're not allowed to hit them…. Sadly." The last word she added with a low whisper. "Anyways." She spoke up again. "Attach is the best photographer from the marines. He's taken shots of most criminals in all of the known world. He's also the one who took a picture of Rainard the Mad and yours by the way as well." She pointed with her war fan towards Anwyn. "Right after you beat up Captain Caym."

"So that was his name." Anwyn mused. "Yeah I remember that fight. He almost got me."

"How did you defeat him anyways? He's a captain and back where Fujitora captured you, you got beaten to a pulp by Lieutenant Commander Hudson."

"I tipped a wagonload with oak logs on top of him." Anwyn chuckled evilly at the memory.

"That must have hurt." Edward laughed. "How did you lure him into such a situation?"

"He threw me across the street and I crashed against the wagon. To get away from him I broke the wheels, rolled under the wagon and let gravity do its work. It helped a lot that the street was downhill as well." She grinned.

"So it was pure luck."

"Well… if you put it that way… yes." She admitted with a sheepish grin. "Hey! Has the bounty finally arrived? I want my part."

"Ah yes… You're share is one tenth, as you were under my command. As Fujitora is the captain he gets 60 percent and because you are my subordinate I get to take my share first as well which is 50 percent, Burne got 40 percent and you get the rest."

"That doesn't even add up." Anwyn exclaimed. "I might not be good at math, but even I know 60 + 50 + 40 is more than hundred."

"Fujitora gets 60 percent of the whole, I get 50 and Burne gets 40 of what's left over and you get the ten percent that are left." Edward explained with a sigh.

"That's not what we bargained for. I knocked out the most of the guys. So I get four fifths of your share."

"If we're honest Burne knocked out the most and I've already handed him everything. Your money is on a deposit account. It amounted up to 376'000 bellies."

"Aw come on. That's hardly enough for such an adventure. One cabbage loaf costs 150, repairing my knife costs 10'000." She kicked at the ground. "Burne better invite us for dinner someday. After all we saved his ass."

* * *

 **Thanks to Inukamahira for submitting Usagi and her family as well. Usagi herself will be a future crewmember of Fujitora, the rest of her characters will appear as random cameos throughout the story.**

 **I'm still in need of ocs, so feel free to send them in.**

 **Please leave a review, I'm sure I can improve a lot with the help of your feedback.**


	5. An old Enemy

**A few days later**

Edward was standing in front of Fujitora desk staring at the marine captain in disbelief. "You can't possibly be serious? He will flat out refuse your offer."

"It's a gamble I am willing to risk. After all it worked out quite well with young Devi as well."

"He's moving in a completely different level. She's a small fry, strong headed but good natured. She only got a bounty on her head, because her devil fruit took her on a rampage." Edward replied and looked over to Burne who was sitting on a chair next to the door. He was looking better, but a few drops of sweat had already formed on his forehead. His wound was healing well, but the blood loss had taken a heavy toll on him.

"I agree with Commodore Mercury." Burne said. "It won't work out."

"Rainard has sent some men after him. If we can't contact him first, he might join Rainard's fleet, then we'll have even more problems to end his reign in South Blue." Fujitora replied evenly.

"He's a murderer. He should be dealt with accordingly." Burne grunted und winced from pain wen he straightened his back. "We should dispose of him before Rainard reaches him and the best thing would be if we would dispose of the men, who want to recruit him as well."

"No. We need one more man with a bounty. Anwyn is not enough to make the crew plausible and you know that. Even with the official wanted posters, you might still draw Rainard's suspicion. With him in your crew, all your bounties will be plausible and Rainard will let you join his fleet without much trouble."

Edward clenched his jaws and shook his head. "Is there no one else?"

"No, not anyone whom I would want to bet on." Fujitora said and stood up. "I know it's a dangerous task I ask of you, but you've already go a small and trustworthy group. Besides, you have gone through far more dangerous missions on your own."

"Exactly." Edward muttered. "I was on my own. I wasn't responsible for the others."

"You will do well, and if not… I have managed to recruit one more person for your little pirate crew. He's a doctor. Very skilled with herbs. He'll take good care of the crew if one of them gets injured." Fujitora walked around the table and went up to the window. He turned his head slightly as if he was listening to a tune then turned to Edward. "Her training is proceeding well."

"She's making progress…" Edward admitted grudgingly and also went up to the window. Outside Anwyn was training with a wooden dummy. For once she didn't use her knives, instead she was striking with her fists at the wooden sticks protruding from the post. One particularly hard strike from her let the dummy spin too fast so one of the arms hit her against the forehead. "Her years as a slave have made her extremely resilient to all physical labours and workouts." He glanced over at Fujitora and switched back to their original subject. "Are these your orders then?"

"Yes. Capture Trigger D. Enzo. Try to recruit him to your crew. If it fails, continue as you see it fitting. If anyone of Rainard's men show up, dispose of them."

Edward saluted, turned on his heels and walked out of the office, with Burne limping behind him. The wounded marine was frowning. "I don't like this. He's too dangerous to be trusted. He should be dealt with according to the law."

"A public execution?" Edward asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Burne stated firmly.

"What about Anwyn then? For her crimes she also should be executed, according to your definition of justice."

"She was underage and besides, she wasn't in her right mind. You've worked with her and I've gotten to know her a bit over the past few days. She's not a bad person." He gritted his teeth and stopped. He had gone very pale and his breath was short and ragged.

"You should rest, commander. You're no use to me half dead."

"I'm alright." Burne growled and continued his way. Edward looked after him, then shook his head. Burne was as stubborn as ever.

 **At the training square**

Anwyn was soaked with sweat, but continued anyway. Her knuckles struck the hard wood and she immediately moved to block the arm spinning towards her. The stick struck her forearm and she hit the round circle representing a face on the post. Training had become her daily routine. Getting up at five in the morning, running two hours, eating breakfast, stretching her muscles and resting, training with the wooden dummy, sparring with one of the drill sergeants, eating lunch, stretching her muscles and resting for an hour, running another hour, training with the wooden dummy, sparring with the drill sergeants, eating dinner, doing some last stretching and soaking in a warm bath, before she went out for a short relaxing run of twenty minutes. Every day she fell asleep at nine in the evening, exhausted and unable to stay up for any longer.

"Rest!" A voice commanded behind her.

She jumped back from the wooden dummy and turned around. Edward was standing behind her. "Hey, how did the meeting with the captain go?"

"We've got a new mission." He replied. "We are to recruit Trigger D. Enzo and if that's not possible we have to keep him from joining Rainard's fleet."

"Cool." She said and dried her face with a towel. "Who's that guy?"

"He's got a bounty of 100 million bellies." Edward said calmly. Anwyn abruptly stopped her movements and lowered her towel.

"You serious?" She looked at his face. "You really are serious. I would have gotten my ass kicked by that Hawk-guy and now you want to take me on a mission to fight a man with trice the bounty he had?"

"Yes." Edward said simply.

"I'm going to get myself killed before I earn my pardon." Anwyn grumbled and tossed her towel on the ground.

"Most likely."

"That doesn't help to calm me down." She yelled and went up to him. "God dammit. I'm training every bloody day, but at least give me some time, before you take me along on such a mission."

"I'm not happy about it either, you idiot." Edward growled. "But I've got my orders, so I follow them."

Anwyn muttered something under her breath, then looked up at him. "When are we leaving?"

"In one week. Our target is on a small ship, which is heading towards an island northeast of here. Our informant told us that he doesn't have enough supplies for a longer distance and the other islands are more than double the distance."

"So what's the island called?"

"Carreg Graig." He replied then added, "Get some rest, before we head off." Before he walked off. Anwyn stared after him and kicked at the ground. 100 Million… That was a 100 plus another six zeros. More than ten times her bounty. She looked back at the wooden dummy, then shook her head. All the motivation for the training had just been drained from her body. She would just go for a short run instead. With one foot she kicked her towel up into the air, caught it then took off into the forest surrounding the small village.

She had been running for about twenty minutes when she heard something rustle in the bushes in front of her. Slowing down a bit she watched the moving branches and suddenly a man burst out of the foliage. He was wearing glasses and his deep blue eyes were intently fixed on some type of grass in his hands.

"Very good. Very good." He mumbled. "Now I just need some more of that Nevergreen." He straightened his white doctor's coat and turned around. Anwyn had stopped completely and was looking curiously at him. Some leaves had gotten caught in his short blonde hair, which was slicked back, leaving only a few bangs falling into his face. He didn't appear to be particularly muscular, but instead seemed wiry. Over his shoulder he had slung a bag, in which he had already stuffed several herbs. "Hello." He greeted her cheerily. "You must be Anwyn Devi. I've already heard a lot about you. You helped Burne and Edward take down Ingram."

"Uhm… yes." She admitted. "But who are you?"

"Right, right. How rude of me. I'm Belos Andrion seaman first class. I'm to be the doctor of your crew. I just arrived her recently and I had read that there should be some interesting herbs on this island." He continued, then suddenly stopped and looked her up and down. "Have you looked like this before or after you joined the marines?"

Bewildered Anwyn looked down at herself, but could find nothing wrong with her appearance and flushed red with anger. "What exactly do you mean with that?" She growled.

Belos raised one hand to calm her down. "I just mean that you're very skinny and that's not healthy. I think I could mix something together that could help you to regain a normal physical appearance."

That was it. She socked him right in the eye and stomped off towards the town. Like hell she would let a stranger insult her right after they met.

Wincing he looked after her and touched the area around his eye with the tip of his fingers. A bruise was already forming. Like most women this one had been a bit touchy about her weight. Even if it was in another direction. He'd still mix her something. She needed it. If she continued like this she would most likely simply faint from exhaustion at some point.

The next morning Anwyn found a large bottle outside her room. A note was sitting next to it and she picked it up. She couldn't read particularly well, but she could make out her own name at the bottom of the small note. With a shrug she scrunched it up and tossed it on her bunk, before eying the content of the bottle. It was filled with some chocolate brown liquid. She pulled out the cork with her teeth and spat it out into the corridor, before sniffing the drink carefully. It smelled sweet, very sweet in fact. She took one careful sip and grinned. It was absolutely delicious. It tasted like mixture between honey and chocolate. She downed the bottle in one go, burped and then headed towards the mess hall. A bit of breakfast would do well now.

She was one of the first who headed into the great hall. Only Burne and the doctor from yesterday were sitting at a table chatting away with each other. Burne looked a bit better than yesterday, but he was still awfully pale.

"How you doing, commander?" Anwyn asked as she slumped down on the seat next to him.

"Better every day Anwyn." He replied. "Especially since you and Edward handed me most of the price money."

"I expect some nice food though." Anwyn grinned and placed the bottle in front of her on the table. "After all we saved your ass on that island."

Burne laughed thunderously and patted her back so hard, that he almost knocked her out of her seat. "Nothing to worry about. I will repay my debt to you and Edward in the close future. I've already…"

"Don't tell me that's the medicine I mixed for you." Belos suddenly interrupted. "I left a note with your name on it and with careful instructions. You were to take three spoonful before breakfast. Did you pour the rest somewhere?"

"Nope, I downed the whole thing." Anwyn replied slightly embarrassed. "What'll happen now?"

"Why didn't you read the note I left you?" He asked furiously. "What kind of patient doesn't read a prescription?"

"I read my name at the bottom of that damn note." Anwyn yelled feeling her face flush.

"And what about the rest? There was a title which clearly said doctor's prescription then there was a clear instruction on how much you should have taken."

Anwyn blushed an even deeper shade of red. "I can't read." She mumbled under her breath.

Burne had followed their argument with growing amusement, but now his grin fell. "Why not?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Cause I never learned it, you idiot." She snapped. "I was a slave. All they deemed fit to teach me was how to build a damned bridge!"

"Well… I admit I didn't take that into account." Belos admitted. "But it's not too bad. In that mix were all the necessary calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals a person needs in one week. Everything has been manipulated so that you're body absorbs them faster. Furthermore I added something to help you build up muscles and something to strengthen your immune system. So all you need to do now is train like your life depends on it the whole day."

"And what if I don't?" She was drumming her fingers on the table and her leg started to twitch.

"I don't think anything bad will happen. You'll just find yourself unable to relax and sit still." He gave her fingers a pointed look. "However I think it might help you to learn the Rokushiki technique Soru a bit faster. Your muscles will be able to take on more stress than usual now."

"Hell." She growled and stood up. "Best I get going then."

Burne looked after as she ran out. "Is it really necessary for her to train to get rid of that stuff in her system?"

"Not really. She would have just wasted an entire bottle of my medicine and I don't like that."

Burne laughed and reached for the jug with water in front of him. "If I wouldn't be hurt, I'd spar a bit with her, but I bet commander Omoi will just do as well. He's though in close combat. He sould arrive sometime next day with our ship."

Anwyn dashed through the corridors overflowing with energy. She really needed to get some movement. When she turned around a corner she was too fast to stop before she crashed into the marine captain.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She said quickly and reached out to help him up, but flinched back when she recognized the rat-like face. "Caym!"

"Anwyn Devi. The little bitch who tipped a wagonload of oak trees on top of me." He stood up and the murderous gleam in his eye was everything it needed for Anwyn to bolt. She turned around on her heels and ran.

However, all her speed was nothing against the Soru of the marine captain. He caught up to her in a second, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and slammed her into the wall. His other hand grabbed her around the throat and hoisted her up into the air. "I will never forgive you that humiliation, you little shit. A mere 3 million bellies managed to trick me. What do you think my superior thought of that?" His grip around her throat tightened. "Now you're strutting around here in the marine base. What the hell were you thinking? It doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon."

His grip tightened even more and Anwyn felt the bones in her neck move. He was going to snap her head her neck like a twig if she didn't do anything. She activated her devil fruit and flames shout out of every part of her skin. With a curse Caym dropped her to the ground. Coughing violently Anwyn got up on all four, sucking in air in huge deep breaths. "You bastard." She croaked hoarsely. The flames around her started to burn hotter and Caym unsheathed his cutlass. Anwyn reached for her knives, took one deep breath, then exhaled a steady stream of smoke.

"Smoke Screen. Soul Vision." She spotted the outline of him in the last moment to dodge a wild swing. He didn't cough as she had been expecting. The captain had obviously learned from their last encounter and was holding his breath. She dived under another swing and slammed the knuckledusters into his stomach. The blow forced the marine captain backwards, but he reacted immediately and grabbed a hold on her shirt. He raised his cutlass and aimed a vigorous slash against her throat. She blocked it with both her knives and for a moment they were locked in a stalemate. She needed both hands to keep his weapon away from her neck, while he couldn't let go of her, as he would risk losing sight of her again.

"I'm a marine now." She forced out between gritted teeth. "Stop attacking me!"

His grip simply tightened around her shirt and he hoisted her up into the air. Caym suddenly stopped trying to press his sword against her weapons and instead tossed her down the hallway out of the smoke. She crashed through the doors leading to the mess hall taking a trail of smoke with her, before landing hard on a table. Groaning with pain she got back up on her feet just in time to see him charge towards her. Burne and Belos had both gotten up looking alarmed.

"TELL THAT BASTARD THAT I'M A MARINE!" Anwyn yelled blocking another strike.

"Shigan!" Caym's pointed finger struck her right into the abdomen doubling her over with pain. With a grin he pulled his bloodied index out of her stomach and raised his cutlass. "Now you're dead!" Anwyns's vision blurred from agony as her devil fruit powers seared the wound shut, preventing any blood loss. The strike never reached her though. Belos had jumped over the tables, tossing a powder like substance in her direction. For a split-second it formed a solid wall over the young woman and the sword bounced off. Confused Caym held still for second, before turning towards the marine soldier.

"Captain! She's telling the truth!" Burne called making his way around the tables towards them. Caym was shaking with rage.

"STAND DOWN!" He yelled. "How dare you attack me? I'll have you brought in front of a court-martial! She's a pirate and she just attacked me in the corridors! You can see the smoke!" He pointed with his cutlass towards the entrance of the mess hall. Before Burne or Belos could respond the fire alarm was triggered. The high blaring from the sirens drowned out the rest of the noises in the mess hall. Caym seized the opportunity and turned towards Anwyn again. However, she had had enough time to recover a bit from the pain. She raised her knives and bared her teeth in a snarl. The flames around her grew hotter, almost completely covering her form. Her teeth grew longer and she dropped one of her knives. Her ears elongated and her nails turned into claws. She ignored Belos desperate attempt to get in between them and Burne was still too far away to interfere. All she could see was Caym's triumphant smirk and the tinge of fear which also flickered in his eyes when she transformed. He raised his cutlass and beckoned her towards him. That was all the invitation she needed. She jumped towards him and saw him tense his muscles in preparation for Tekkai. That wouldn't help. She had also learned something new since their last encounter.

"Soul …"

"Gravito!" All of sudden an invisible force grabbed a hold of her and smashed her into the ground. The same happened with the marine captain Caym and Belos as well. The blaring of the sirens abruptly stopped.

"What is going on here?" The voice was calm and seemed only mildly interested, but Anwyn recognized it well enough. Fujitora had entered the mess hall. The tip of his sword was pointing towards them. "Edward! Restrain her!"

"Yes, sir!" Edward walked over to her and Anwyn felt of the pressure on her started to get weaker. "Don't make this any harder than it already is, Anwyn." He whispered and knelt down next to her. In his hands he was holding handcuffs. No doubt they were coated with sea stone. She closed her eyes and nodded, before deactivating her devil fruit. The claws retracted as well as her teeth. The fire grew weaker before disappearing completely. Edward cuffed her hands at her front and helped her to stand up. "You're hurt!"

"That frigging bastard got me with a Shigan." She muttered. "Was just about to knock him flat on his arse though."

"Yeah sure and now keep quiet you little idiot! You have no idea how big you messed up." He muttered under his breath and dragged her with him out of the mess hall.

"Captain Fujitora! Captain Caym was attacking Anwyn. She was just defending herself." Burne stated firmly and fixed Caym with a murderous look.

"These two subjects interfered in this fight! In particular Belos Andrion. He kept me from dealing the final blow and allowed her to recover." Caym protested and pointed accusingly towards Belos. A couple of marine soldiers emerged from behind Fujitora who now sheathed his sword. "You and you. Please escort Belos Andrion and Burne Tempest to my office." Fujitora ordered then turned around, before calling over his shoulder. "Please accompany me as well Captain Caym."

"Oh hell no!" Anwyn groaned as Edward locked the door to her cell. "I didn't do anything wrong. I just bumped into him. I swear. Then he got all worked up and tried to gut me! Why does he take it so hard that I tipped a wagon load of oak trees on him?"

"First: You were a small fry and still are. It insulted his pride that you got away from him and actually managed to hurt him quite badly. You broke several of his rib with your little stunt. Second: He's descending from a very wealthy family of nobles, so you not insulted his personal pride, but also the honour of his family. Third: You were an underage girl. Even more humiliating by someone like that if you ask me. Fourth: This one is probably one of the most important. You cost him his promotion to Commodore." For each of the points he raised one of his fingers.

"Alright, alright. I get it." She muttered. "But why did you have to lock me up? I still didn't do anything wrong."

"For me it looked like you were trying to go ham on his ass, when Fujitora entered the mess hall. It looked like that for everyone. Claws out, fire burning, bared teeth. You looked like a bloody hell spawn!"

"Thank you." She said with a grin.

Edward reached in between the bars and whacked her on the head. "That wasn't a compliment!" He muttered something under his breath then looked at her stomach. "You need a doctor for that?"

Anwyn shrugged. "I had worse."

"I'll take that as a yes. At least you're injured and he's not. Furthermore you have two witnesses who can plead your case. Also we have followed the law very exactly until now. He can't claim we have protected you." He said then cursed under his breath. "That captain Caym has really soft spot for you. He'll be trying to get you court-martialled and publicly executed."

Anwyn gulped. "Old man Fujitora won't let that happen right?"

"Not after he went through all the trouble recruiting you. Also you saved Burne and donated most of the money you got to him. That doesn't sound like someone who randomly attacks marines." He reached in between the bars and grabbed her shoulder. "Keep your chin up. Usagi and her parents have much influence and they like you. They will also plead your case. I'll have to leave now. Going have to throw my weight about as well. Can't lose you right now, even if you are an idiot." With that he left her alone in the cell. Anwyn looked after him feeling alone and miserable. Her wound was throbbing painfully and she was anxious to move. The mixture she had drank in the morning was still in her system, but she didn't want to overexert herself and reopen the wound. All she could do now was wait and hope the others would manage to keep her from getting executed.

"Anwyn Devi attacked me in the corridors without any reason at all. First she pushed me to the ground and when I tried to inquire what she was doing she tried to choke me to death with smoke. After that I pulled my weapon to defend myself from further attacks. I chased her into the mess hall, where I was stopped from arresting her, by these two individuals." Caym finished his statement by glaring at Burne and Belos who both flushed bright red with anger.

"That's not true! Not at all! I stopped you from murdering her, after you injured her with one of the Rokushiki attacks, namely the Shigan!" Belos snapped.

"And she was flying through the door. Anwyn was tossed back into the mess hall. That girl didn't run." Burne added cracking his knuckles.

Before Caym could reply the door was flung open and Usagi, Inoshishi and Anaguma piled into the room. "What did I just hear? Anwyn was arrested? What is she accused of?" Inoshishi's voice boomed through the small room, causing everyone including her own family member to wince.

"She attacked me without reason and tried to kill me." Caym responded. "What do you have to do with it?"

"She's a vital part of Fujitora's plan, which we support by the way." Inoshishi fixed the other marine captain with a hard stare. "From what I heard Anwyn was injured. I hope it was nothing too serious."

"Not from what I could determine in the short time I saw her." Belos replied.

"Has a doctor been sent to her?"

Fujitora followed the exchange with obvious amusement. Caym wasn't very pleased though. The other ignored him and continued their debate on Anwyn's wellbeing.

"What are you doing?!" He called out, clearly annoyed. "She's a criminal and we should discuss when her execution should take place."

However, once more the door swung open and Edward strolled in. "Sorry for being late. I just had to lock her up. Now I heard you pulled your weapon against her, Captain Caym?" He asked.

"Yes, but only after she attacked me twice." Caym replied smugly, feeling like he had gotten some control over the situation again. "I propose that we deal swiftly with this situation. Her execution could take place in one week. I suppose the martial court will be more of a formality. After all it's the word of a captain against the one of a commander and a seaman first class. Furthermore you saw for yourself what took place in the mess hall, captain Fujitora and Commodore Edward Mercury. She was the one attacking me."

Edward nodded slowly. "What concerns me more is why you drew your weapon." He said with a drawn out voice.

Caym frowned. "I have already stated my point. She attacked me."

Again Edward nodded and walked up next to Fujitora before turning around facing Caym. "Yes and you, a skilled Rokushiki user and captain of the marines, considered an underage, half-starved ex-slave girl enough of a threat that you even had to draw your sword to fend her off. We will have that mentioned in the report of course."

Usagi snickered and quickly covered her mouth with one hand. Caym had grown utterly pale, while Belos and Burne were both not even trying to hide their gloating.

"Oh wait. I almost forgot. She's of course also wanted. Her bounty was 10 million if I remember correctly. No, wait sorry it was only about 8 Million."

"Yes, that is correct." Fujitora added. "If you wish I can have a recruit write the report immediately."

"Don't forget to add that it took the help of another Captain and a Commodore to rescue him from that child." Burne butted in.

"We don't even have to call a recruit, Captain. I'm very fast at writing. I will have it finished and sent in to the official records in less than twenty minutes." Usagi offered generously.

"Now wait a second." Caym interrupted them. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. "There's surely no need to make this official. After all…" He gulped, frantically trying to find a loophole. "I withdraw my formal complaint. I just wanted to tell you to order your fresh recruits not to activate their devil fruits in the buildings. She should be punished by that. In the heat of the moment I thought a execution to be fitting." He looked at the faces around him and swallowed nervously.

That was a poor excuse and everyone knew it, but Edward seized the chance without hesitating a second. "Well then it's settled. Please refrain from making such jokes in the future. Belos and commander Burne, I think you owe Captain Caym an apology for interrupting the "training" sequence between him and Anwyn."

"Of course." They said in unison, before bowing deeply before the flustered marine captain. "Please accept our deepest apologies."

"Anyone can make a mistake." Caym waved it off quickly.

"Anwyn will of course be firmly reprimanded about the use of her devil fruit powers in closed buildings and areas." Edward added. "She will also offer a formal excuse to you as well."

"No need for that. Everyone can get carried away once in a while." Caym replied stiffly. "If you will excuse me. I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course. You may leave." Fujitora said. Usagi quickly stepped to the side and opened the door for the marine captain. She couldn't help herself but smirk at him, before she closed the door behind him again. For a few seconds there was absolute silence in the room before everyone burst into laughter. Usagi found herself pulled into a hug by her father who ruffled her hair. "Well done girl. Your last sentence really pushed him over the edge."

Inoshishi patted Edward so hard on the back he almost toppled over. "Well done laddie!" She laughed. "Haven't had this much fun in years."

Edward grinned then turned to Fujitora, who was still chuckling to himself. "Well solved Edward Mercury. I've always thought you were a deep-cunning man." He turned to Belos and Usagi. "Go and get her out of the cell and to the medical wing. Try to make sure she doesn't get into contact with Captain Caym again. I don't want another incident like this."

"Yes, sir!" They both saluted and went out of the captain's office.

"I take it we should leave as soon as possible, right?" Burne asked. "No need to provoke another tussle with Caym."

Fujitora nodded. "Yes and from then on you will officially be wanted. Your posters are already being printed. You're last comrade is on his way with the ship you're going to take. He should arrive tomorrow around lunchtime."

* * *

Thanks to everyone for reading this and submitting their characters. Now I have the crew together, so I won't accept any ocs for the next chapters.

Special Thanks to:

clashingHeartsofChocolate for sending me the doctor of the crew Belos, Andrion

DoTheBartMan for sending me Trigger D. Enzo

Joker's Ace for sending me Omoi Ken (Gree) (He will make an appearance in the next chapter)

I hope I managed to get rid of most of the grammatical errors and you enjoyed reading it.


	6. The Paper Pirates Part 1

**The Paper Pirates**

Her head jerked up when she heard the doors opened. The time had been crawling on in a snail's pace. It wasn't particularly comfortable to wait on your possible execution. A broad smile spread on her face, when she spotted Belos and Usagi. "No execution then?" She asked hopefully.

"No, execution today." Usagi replied grinning and unlocked the door.

"How does your wound feel?" Belos asked and looked at the bloodstain at the front of her Anwyn's shirt.

"It hurts but nothing I can't handle. I'm eager to train a bit. After all I need to get your medicine out of my system." Anwyn stood up and tried to push past him.

"First we'll head up to the infirmary. That wound needs proper tending. There's no need to risk an infection." Belos stated, grabbed her by the upper-arm and dragged her away.

"You're not giving me much a choice." Anwyn muttered. Usagi followed them, telling Anwyn all about the discussion up in Fujitora's office.

"So I just escaped, because you made it sound like an embarrassment, that he had to draw his weapon to fight me?" Anwyn asked incredulously. "I'm not sure how to feel about this. Part of me is happy, but I also kind of feel insulted."

"You'll learn to live with it." Usagi laughed, but then got serious again. "You'll have to watch out for him though. He'll be eager to get back for what you did to him. His family has a lot of influence. One wrong step and they will crush you like a bug."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"You're welcome. You seem to be one of those persons who ignore the dangers until they crash headfirst into them. So stay out of his way and don't do anything rash. Always be polite, address him with his title and salute whenever you cross his path." She continued her lecture, ignoring the steady growing pout on Anwyn's face. "Furthermore you will offer him a formal apology in the mess hall, during lunch time of course. The official records say that you overdid it while training with him. So you will apologize for activating your devil fruit powers inside the building, thus endangering the marine buildings on this island."

"Me apologize to him? No way! He tried to bloody kill me." Anwyn protested. She stumbled over the doorstep to the infirmary, but Belo's firm grip on her arm kept her upright.

Usagi scowled and matched Anwyn's frown easily with one of her own. "You will apologize to him! Captain Fujitora, Commodore Edward Mercury, my mother and my father all stood up for you. Commander Burne and Belos pleaded your cause as witnesses. You won't insult them by trampling on their offer only because of your stupid pride."

Anwyn blushed, abashed by the lecture. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend any of you. It's just… I don't want to go crawling on my knees to him and beg for his forgiveness in front of everyone. I've done my fair share of crawling already." She looked down and barely managed to stumble over the next doorstep without falling. Usagi's expression softened a bit.

"I know, but Edward, Burne, Belos and I all know what really happened and that's all that matters. Damn the others to hell."

"Exactly." Belos muttered. "Now lay down and let me have a look at your wound." He didn't wait for a response and simply pushed her down on a bedside. "Roll up your shirt so the injury is uncovered." He instructed and started unpacking his bag. A bit reluctantly Anwyn followed the order and rolled up her shirt, revealing a hard flat stomach. Every muscle was clearly visible and her waist was incredibly thin. Belos bit his teeth and shook his head. "Damn. You look close to starvation." He muttered. "No more training for you and I'll be making a list with certain dishes for you. The kitchen will prepare your food separately from now on." He probed the edges of her wound with his fingers. "Interesting. Your ability seems to melt the tissue together again. However, it appears not to be particularly resistant against extensive straining. You need rest and a lot of food. No more of my special mix for you though. It puts your body under an enormous stress to process such an amount of proteins. Chew on this." He handed her a thick leaf. "It will subdue the pain a bit and calm you down."

With a shrug Anwyn put the leave in her mouth and started to chew. It tasted bitter, but the look Belos gave her made her think twice before spitting it out. "Swallow!"

She swallowed it and pulled her shirt down before sitting up again. "Thank you." She muttered. "For helping me out with Fujitora and for patching me up. And sorry for punching you in the forest."

A small smile showed in the corner of his mouth. "No problem. Just follow my advice and we'll be at peace with each other."

She grinned finding back to her usual self. "Alright. Usagi? You coming with me the see the others? I need to thank them as well."

 **Next morning**

The apology had been easier than she had expected. Caym had been eager not to make a scene and had accepted her apology without a fuss. As for now she was sitting side by side with Burne at the harbour. Her naked feet were dangling above the water and she was feeling lazy. The fishing rod in her hands twitched as a fish took the bait. She jerked it up and caught the fist in the air. With a quick movement she snapped its neck, then took one of her knives and gutted it, before impaling it on a stick. "It could be like this every day." She muttered and breathed some fire on the fish. It took only a few minutes for her to fry it to a golden brown. She sprinkled it with a bit salt, then sunk her teeth in it. "When should that Omoi-guy come again?" She asked with a full mouth.

"Around noon." He replied and picked up the wanted posters which had arrived this morning. They had turned out well. Edward's face was almost covered by the shade of his Stetson. Only the lower part of his face was lit by the sun. It suited him well. Burne picked up his own poster, frowned and turned it sideways.

"Why do I only have 40 Million on my head? There should be more." He muttered. They had taken a picture of him when had taken his hybrid form. The horns growing out of his skull gave him a particularly threatening look, in her opinion at least. The flames around his hands were also adding something.

"It's more than I have. They raised mine only to 10 Million. Even Usagi has a higher one than me."

"She fights better than you as well. It's justified." Burne chuckled and Anwyn punched him on the shoulder.

"She still shouldn't have 20 Million bellies. But I have to admit she does look good on her picture." Anwyn took another bite from her fish and picked up Usagi's wanted poster with one hand. The lower half of Usagi's face was covered by one of her war fans, giving her a mysterious look. "And what about him?" She picked up Omoi's picture, studying it closely. Only his face was pictured and most of it was covered by a white skull mask. The mask was missing the left horn and went down just below his nose. The base had been carved to look like sharp teeth. One of his eyes was milky white and appeared to be blind, while the other was a sharp blue. The black hair fell down to his shoulders. "Also 40 Million. Fujitora really wants to put together a high tier crew, doesn't he? But how is this even plausible. We'd need a good background story to explain these bounties."

"A few days ago a terrible storm sunk three marine battleships. All the marine bases are reporting that a new group of pirates has sunk them. That'll mean us. The rest is basic human nature. A lot of soldiers love to gossip. The news will reach the population and from there it will reach the pirates." Burne explained. Just as he finished speak a fish took his bait and he jerked it out of the water. "Here you go." He handed it to Anwyn who thanked him with a nod.

"I still don't get why Edward has a bounty of 75 Million though." Anwyn said, before spitting out a fishbone.

"He's to play the captain of our crew and he needs a reasonable bounty to make an impression on Rainard. Our bounty will rise another time after we have beaten Trigger and the crew Rainard sent after him."

"Won't Rainard be furious when we kick his guys asses?"

Burne laughed and shook his head. "No. All that man cares for is the right of the strongest. If someone of his crew is defeated then he deserved it. If we beat the crew he sent after Trigger it will only raise our chances to be accepted into Rainard's fleet."

"Alright." Anwyn shrugged and started roasting her second fish. She was still busy breathing fire when a vessel sailed into the harbour. It was painted pitch black and the sails were the colour of blood. The figurehead was in the form of a grey dragon. The dragon's eyes were in the same colour as the sails. Anwyn looked up and stared in wonder, forgetting that she was still breathing fire on her fish burning it to ashes in the process. "Dammit!" She cursed and brushed the blackened parts from her shirt, when she realised what she was doing. "Is that our ship?" She asked standing up to have a better look at the vessel. It looked like a smaller galleon, no a larger caravel was a better description. One canon at the front and three on each side.

"Yes, this is our ship. The Red Dread!" Burne grinned proudly. "And there at the helm is our navigator himself. Omoi Ken!" Anwyn look in the direction he was pointing and spotted a large man standing behind the helm. He was wearing the mask, so it had to be Omoi. He was well-proportioned and athletically built. A tattoo seemed to be covering his chest, but from the distance she couldn't make out the details. On his right arm he wore a metal spiked pauldron with a metal sleeve and gauntlet. His loose fitting khaki pants were flapping in the wind, but he didn't wear a shirt. Instead he had two heavy chains wrapped criss-cross around his torso.

"Red Dread." Anwyn repeated with small smile. "Seems fitting. Especially with the red eyes of that dragon." She watched as the helmsman steered the ship close to a dock and tossed some rope down to the marine soldiers on duty. "Let's go. I want to have a closer look." Without waiting for an answer she jumped to her feet and ran over to the docks. Omoi disembarked by jumping over the railing. He landed heavily on the ground and straightened immediately.

"Hey!" She called and skidded to halt in front of him. Now she was also able what the tattoo on his chest was supposed to be. The face of an armoured demon. "You're a commander right? I'm Chore Girl Anwyn Devi at your service." She saluted. "I'll be on your team together with the rest."

Omoi looked down at her then grinned. "Nice to meet you. Where's the rest of the crew?" Before Anwyn could a reply a really large gourd was carried down by two marine soldiers. "Ah thank you. Almost forgot that one." He pulled out the cork with one hand, before raising the bottle to his lips and taking a few good gulps. The smell was enough to peak Anwyn's interest.

"Sake?" She asked.

"Yes." He offered he the bottle which was almost the same size as Anwyn herself. "Want some?"

"Of course." She laughed and snatched the marine cap from her head to use it as a makeshift cup. Burne reached her just in time to keep her from dunking it into the oversized bottle.

"Go fetch the rest of our crew and bring a message to Fujitora. The ship has arrived and we are ready to leave. He'll give you the rest of the information for our mission. You can't go up to him reeking of sake." He growled showing her on the way.

"Aye, aye sir." She slapped the cap back on her head and took off running.

"She's a spirited one." Omoi said looking after her. "Is it true that she got into a fight with captain Caym?"

"Yes. She almost burned the marine quarters down in process." Burne turned towards Omoi and extended his right. "How you doing old friend?" Omoi gripped him tightly around the wrist and laughed heartily.

"Couldn't be better. I'm off to a crazy adventure with the same recruit who joined the marines with me. How's that Edward Mercury fellow?"

Burne grinned, reached for the bottle and started to tell the tales of the latest exploits of their small crew.

 **Meanwhile in the town**

Edward was enjoying himself immensely. To his left was the prettiest woman of the town blushing furiously as soon as he turned his attention to her. To his right was a bottle with the finest wine owned by the establishment. He turned his attention to the woman to his left and filled her glass another time with the wine.

"Soon I must be off to face the dangers of the sea, my love. How about…"

"There you are!"

Both the woman and Edward turned their attention towards the entrance. Anwyn had entered not caring a single bit about the stares she was getting from all the noble guests. Her worn clothes were in a stark contrast to the well-tailored suits and dresses of the other guests.

"Anwyn. Leave me be. I'm busy here." He said. "As I was saying…"

"Commodore! The ship has arrived. Usagi and Belos are packing their stuff. We're to leave. Plus Fujitora wants to talk to you."

"You really know how to ruin a moment, don't you?" Edward turned his full attention towards the unwelcome intruder. "It won't be long. Let me just enjoy this last hours of peace before we head out into battle." The last few words added a long and admiring sigh from the woman.

"Watch out, soon she's going to drool all over you." Anwyn grinned.

The woman blushed with anger. "What does a little brat like you know about love?"

"Now listen here you stupid tart. If you dare to …" She couldn't finish her sentence as Edward was at her side in a flash and picked her up by the scruff of her neck.

"You really have no sense of curtesy, do you?" He stated, before walking out of the bar and dropping her on the ground. She looked after him when he headed back into the building. How she hated if someone did that. She really felt like breathing fire after him. Instead she got back up on her feet and headed towards the marine headquarters. She found Usagi in the mess hall sitting together with Belos. "The ship has arrived." She announced with a broad grin. "The Red Dread. Omoi is on it already and he's drinking with Burne. We are to pack our stuff and head out to recruit our last comrade."

"Perfect." Belos laughed and stood up. "I have no intention of staying here longer than needed after our little encounter with Caym."

Usagi agreed. "Just have to say goodbye to my parents, then we can sail away."

"Alright. I have to go to Fujitora anyway. He will give me some more information about our mission." Anwyn replied, waving goodbye to them. She felt a rush of anxiety surging through her, when she was running through the corridors. It was finally true. She would sail out with this crew and try to infiltrate the fleet of the most notorious pirate of the south blue. She gulped and continued her way. It would be fine. She had strong comrades at her side. Omoi, Burne, Usagie, Belos and Edward. They would protect her if needed and she them as well of course.

She didn't need to wait to go in into Fujitoras office. He was already waiting for her. In front of him was a small stack with papers. "Here's the information I could gather about the crew Rainard has sent out after Trigger D. Enzo." He said and handed it to her. "But before you can go I'd like to ask you a few questions Anwyn."

"Yes, sir." She said nervously.

"If you survive this mission, I could offer you a place in the ranks of the marines besides an official pardon. You would have to start as a chore girl or recruit, depending on how well you prove yourself during this mission. Would accept such an offer?"

"I…" Anwyn swallowed nervously. "I don't know." She admitted. "I'm not particularly skilled in fighting nor am I particularly eager to go out and fight Rainard. I'll have to think it over carefully."

Fujitora nodded one of his small smiles playing in the corner of his lips. "Of course. There's no need to rush it. Whatever your answer is, I'm looking forward to hear it. Now bring this map to Edward Mercury."

"Aye, sir." She saluted, turned on her heels and walked out again. The map was heavy and she was tempted to peek into it. He had said, that it contained information about the enemy pirate crew. She curbed her curiosity and headed for her room. She needed to pack her things as well.

 **A few days later**

A sudden shake woke her up and she looked around surprised. However, there was no land around them. The ship was the only one on the sea. The weather was calm and there was a steady breeze blowing. She closed her eyes again letting the gentle roll of the ship lull her back to sleep again.

"HEY! You better not be getting back to sleep up there." Someone punched the mast effectively shaking her awake. Now she knew what had woken her up the first time.

"I'm awake, you idiot!" She called back down. Peering over the rim of the crow's nest she spotted Omoi glaring up at her. "Bugger off! You're distracting me from my watch."

"I heard you snore!"

She blushed indignantly. "I do not snore!" Anwyn protested vehemently.

"You're shift has been over for almost two hours." He answered evenly flashing her a broad grin. "You and I agreed to have a small sparring contest, so get down."

With a small groan Anwyn got up, rubbing the last of the sleep out of her eyes. "Coming." She wrapped a piece of cloth around her hands, grabbed a rope then slid down on the deck. "With weapons or without."

"With of course. You need to learn how to defend yourself against a swordsman. You rely too much on your devil fruit to keep you from harm. Against enemies who prefer to hit you with their fists you're fruit is the ultimate shield, but as soon as they use a sword, they have the advantage of reach." He unsheathed his sword and Anwyn quickly grabbed her knives. "Ready?" Omoi asked, raising his broadsword over his head with one hand.

"Wait!" Usagi called out and tossed something round to Omoi, who caught in in the air. "Use your shield. Edward says, she needs to work on her agility."

"Does he now?" Anwyn muttered disgruntled. Omoi grabbed the round shield by its handle then beat his weapon against the rim, causing sparks to fly into the air. "Is that thing out of steel?" Anwyn asked bewildered.

"Of course. What else?"

"I won't be able to even put a dent into that thing, if I can't use my devil fruit."

"We're on a ship made out of wood. You should never use your devil fruit in such circumstances unless you're on an enemy ship of course. Now defend yourself." He swung his sword in a frightening speed against her neck. Anwyn leant back letting the weapon miss her by a few inches, before darting forward. She aimed low, then struck high, when he lowered his shield to fend off her attack. The tip of her weapon missed his shoulder causing her to curse. Omoi pushed her back with his shield to gain some distance again.

"You missed by three inches. Learn the reach of your weapon." He lectured while swinging his sword downwards again. Anwyn ducked feeling a rush of air tugging at her ponytail. She jumped at him again, landing a flurry of strikes against his shield. Omoi simply pushed her back again and brought his sword down. This time she had the weight on the wrong foot and blocked the blow with both knives. The impact jarred her entire body. She bit her tongue and she instinctively tensed all her muscles, but was still forced down to her knees.

"Dodge if you're not sure you can block it." Edward said with a hint of laughter. "His sword is heavy, really heavy and he's even stronger than he looks like."

Anwyn was unable to answer. She had to focus all her strength on keeping herself from being struck down. Omoi simply kept pushing and soon she would have to yield. He had the longer reach. That meant she needed to get closer. "Soru!" She kicked of the wooden floor and jumped towards him. He looked surprised and barely managed to dodge her attack. Her knuckledusters grazed his hip and then she was already past him.

She switched the blade she held in her right hand to a reverse grip and took a deep breath. Omoi turned around swinging his sword like a scythe. Anwyn jumped over it, turning a somersault over the large marine. Her arms were stretched out to the sides so she could keep her balance in the air and just as she was right over Omoi she breathed smoke into his face. It wasn't much, just enough to blind him for a second. She landed nimbly on the deck and punched him with all her might in the side.

He only flinched and immediately counterattacked. Too late she realized she had underestimated him. She had thought she would be safe if she attacked from his left, where he was holding his shield. He brought the rim down against her face but stopped his attack in the last second. "Dead." He said with a small grin and tapped the side of her head with the rim of his shield. "But that was a good trick with the smoke. Why didn't you breathe out more?"

"No use. The wind would blow it away in a second. It's only usable in buildings or if there isn't any wind." She sheathed her knives and stretched her arms. "God dammit. Did you have to put that much strength into your swings? It feels like I've stretched a muscle." She grumbled.

Edward patted her back. „Stop whining. You did well and you used the Soru for the first time. Even if it was slow."

"LAND!" Usagi called out from the crow's nest. "Carreg Craig is straight south-south-west."

Anwyn rushed to the railing together with Belos, Omoi and Burne. "Yes. Finally!" Burne grinned. "I hope the other pirates have arrived there as well. It would be nice, if we could deal with them right in the beginning."

"I hope they got sunk by a storm." Anwyn muttered. A few hours later she was sorely disappointed. A small pirate ship had thrown anchor in the harbour. It was similarly built like the Red Dread, but had a broader deck. "Oh god dammit. Not another one with 100 Million on his head." She groaned. The flag of the pirate-ship showed a corpse completely wrapped into small white squares on black ground. It somehow reminded Anwyn sorely of a mummy and clearly stated the powers of this pirate crew's captain.

"He's worth 95 Millions." Burne corrected her. "Paper Faron, if I am not mistaken. He ate the paper devil fruit. Logia type. We could burn him like cinders."

"Yeah sure." She replied sarcastically. "You seem awfully optimistic."

Burne ignored her and continued to list up the names of the strongest crewmembers. "Jack Gilmer 70 Millions, Zaine 40 Millions, Thatcher Hartford 55 Millions, Reed Burton and her two brothers Ravenel and Regan all worth each 30 Millions. All that adds up to…"

"350 Million Bellies." Usagi finished the sentence for him.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed reading it. Next Chapter is already in progress.**


	7. The Paper Pirates Part 2

"How shall we proceed when we find him?" Anwyn asked.

"Hand him the paper Fujitora gave with us. Usagi did me the favour to copy for each of you. However under no circumstances will you engage the paper pirates. They are strong and we need to work together to get rid of them. Understood?" The last question was directed at Burne.

"Alright, alright. I will try to contain myself." He muttered. Every provocation would be taken as an invitation though.

Usagi handed them each a sealed letter. "We will split up into groups of two. Belos you go with Anwyn. Usagi with Burne. Omoi, you're with me." Edward continued and put a new round of bullets into his gun. "Let's go."

Anwyn climbed up on the dockyard. The wood was rotten and wouldn't hold for much longer. Now that she inspected the town closer it almost seemed abandoned. The houses were in bad shape and the paving was covered with moss. "What happened here?"

"I think Rainard sacked the place a year ago." Belos replied. "One his first bigger raids. Killed everyone except one youngster. He wanted someone who would be able to tell who had done it."

"Sick bastard." Anwyn looked closer at something lying in a narrow street. It took her a few seconds to find out that it was the ribcage of a skeleton. The rest had been covered by moss.

"The sick thing is that the youngster joined Rainards crew half a year later." Belos replied and picked up a small plant. He squashed a leaf between his fingers, sniffed at it, before tossing it back on the ground. "Let's go. We have to find him." They took the main street to the left and continued close to the coast line.

"I smell smoke." Anwyn raised her nose into the air breathing in deeply. "It's coming from the right."

"I don't smell anything."

"I'm part hellhound." She shrugged flashing her teeth for a second. She was proven right. They were cautious, when they approached the smell, going so far to even stop behind a wooden wall. "Soul Vision." Anwyn activated her devil fruit. The world around her turned grey. The wood appeared like a see through wall in front her, but she could still make out the shapes of the persons souls. "7 persons. That has to be the paper pirates." She whispered. "Let's retreat for now." Belos nodded and they both stepped back. Suddenly the shapes started to stand up and spread out. Two walked in their direction. "Hurry!" She hissed, grabbed him by the arm and tugged him into a small alley. "I'll keep my eyes on them. You look for a way out."

Belos nodded and took her by the wrist. Anwyn kept her gaze locked on the other shapes, while they retreated through the streets. As Belos wanted to turn right, she shook her head sharply. One more was approaching from a side street. She could barely make him out behind the stone wall, but she was sure. Belos nodded and headed left instead. They were steadily herded up towards the ruined castle on top of the small hill towering over the small city.

"Where did Edward and the rest go?" Anwyn asked, once she couldn't see the shapes of their pursuers anymore. She deactivated her devil fruit and rubbed her eyes. They were always itching if she used Soul Vision for too long.

"Edward and Omoi went to the east to look around in the dockyard. Usagi and Burne went to north. They must have walked parallel with the paper pirates until now. A miracle they haven't spotted each other yet." Belos replied looking up at the broken walls of the castle. "We could have a look at this place in the meantime."

"Agreed." They both climbed over the rubble lying in the main gate and were greeted by the sight of a man washing himself with a wet rag the well in the middle of the square. He was only wearing pants. That had to be Enzo. Anwyn quickly grabbed Belos' telescope to get a better look at the man and maybe find out what his weapons of choice were. He was tall, had short spiked brown hair and a chin strap beard. His back was covered by a tattoo of huge black wings. On his left shoulder he had a dreamcatcher with wedding bells. On his right one a smaller hangman's noose with a skeleton dangling from it.

His clothes were lying in a heap next to him. The heap was rather big. He probably had some weapons beneath his cloak. She focused a bit closer on the man himself. He turned around and wrung out the piece of cloth. Now she spotted the rest of his tattoos. His chest wasn't free either, covered in tribal tattoos forming circles and odd shapes. On the back of his left hand he had the portrait of a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and green eyes. His right bore a tombstone with some dates and some letters she couldn't make out.

"Didn't know you two were the kind of people who liked peeping at strangers." A voice laughed behind them. "Well, you're a woman after all Anwyn, but Belos…" Both Anwyn and Belos spun around blushing beet red.

"What the hell, Burne?" Anwyn hissed. "I was looking for information about our enemy."

Burne simply laughed. "You both were watching him for a mighty long time."

Belos took of his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt, before putting them back on. He was too flustered to speak and instead satisfied himself with socking Burne right on the nose starting a small but quiet scuffle between them.

Usagi chuckled, "You know he has a point though."

"You also want to get a shiner?" Anwyn growled.

Usagi just grinned. "Try it. You know how it turned out last time."

"Who the hell are you guys?" The voice snapped them out of their argument. Burne and Belos immediately stopped their fighting and straightened up.

"We've come to make you an offer." Usagi stepped forward and took out an official looking document from a pocket. Anwyn looked down at her own letter. It was smudged with fingerprints and during their retreat from the paper pirates it had gotten dirty. Usagi's looked as neat as new though. Discreetly she activated her devil fruit and burned her letter to ashes. She didn't need it anymore anyway and there was no need for the others to see that she hadn't taken good care of it.

"What kind of offer?" Enzo had put his clothes back on and now Anwyn could clearly see what his weapons of choice were. Two belts with four pistols each were slung crosswise across his chest, while two more were tucked into his belt.

"Read this and you will see." Usagi went up to him and handed him the letter. The others followed her lead, but stopped a few steps behind her.

Enzo eyed them cautiously and broke the seal of the letter. He never stopped watching them though. "What's written in here?"

"Read it and see for yourself. We will even step back a bit if you fear, that we will attack you while you're distracted." Usagi added and stepped back, so she stood between her comrades.

"What happens if he refuses Fujitoras offer?" Anwyn whispered.

"Then we have to take him down. We're taking a big risk here." Belos' replied and reached into a small purse at his side. "He doesn't seem to like it."

Anwyn looked back at Enzo. Belos seemed to be right. The man's eyes had gotten hard as steel. "He offers me a royal pardon, if I join the marines?" He growled and scrunched the letter up to a small ball. "After I went to the marines and asked for help for what happened to my wife! It's like spitting me in the face."

"So you refuse his offer?" Burne asked and his shoulders tensed.

"Oh no, of course I accept it. I will happily dance on Rose's grave as well, furthermore I will go to each world noble and apologise for killing one of their cousins." He snapped.

"Don't you at least want to consider it? Anwyn here accepted it." Belos asked and shifted his stance slightly.

Enzo's eyes narrowed, as he eyed Anwyn from top to toe. "Anwyn Devi? Devi the Demon?"

"Exactly that one." She replied.

"Why did you accept?"

Anwyn blinked surprised. She hadn't expected that question. "I wanted a pardon. I'm tired of running and I didn't kill the slavers on people on purpose either. I think it would be nice not being a criminal anymore."

"So instead of fighting against marines, you're being pitted against pirates that are way out of your league. That doesn't sound like a particularly smart choice to me." He shook his head. "I won't accept. Nothing what you will say will sway my choice."

A vein popped up on Anwyn's forehead. "What do you mean with out of my league? I could take you anytime."

"Stay calm." Usagi whispered as Anwyn unsheathed her knives.

Belos spoke up again drawing everyone's attention to him. "Is that your final answer?"

"Yes." Enzo nodded and reached for one of his pistols. "I assume you won't let me go now."

Burne nodded curtly. "You assume right. I should have known that Fujitora made a mistake by offering a pardon to someone like you. A murderer. Someone who gunned down every last person on a wedding." He activated his devil fruit. Horns grew out of his head and the trident like tail appeared on his lower back.

Enzo pulled out two guns and aimed them at Belos and Burne. "Stay were you are. There's no need for this to end in bloodshed."

Anwyn raised her knives. "Then lay down your arms and yield."

He laughed and shook his head. "No way!"

Belos grabbed the powder in his bag, with one hand while the other formed an odd gesture. Like he had three claws on one hand. "It's four against one. You don't stand a chance."

"I'm not so sure about that." Enzo pulled the triggers of both guns. The gunshots echoed loudly in the small courtyard. One of the bullets bounced of an almost invisible wall, as Belos tossed a pinch of powder into the air in front of him.

Burne flung himself into the air, changing into his full demon form. His skin turned grey and large wings sprouted from his back. His teeth grew larger and his fingernails were replaced with claws. Along his spine thorns grew through his skin and the same happened along the bones on his arms.

Enzo was distracted for a second and Anwyn and Usagi darted forward. Anwyn was a tad faster as she used Soru. Enzo turned his gun in her direction but she struck it aside with her knuckledusters. Usagi used the opening to thrust one of her war fans right against his chest. A blow hard enough to break bones. Enzo evaded it by jumping backwards, but Anwyn followed him tightly. She struck after his legs, but he moved to the side. Anwyn stumbled clumsily past him leaving herself wide open for a counter attack. Enzo didn't use the opportunity. He jumped away from her and fired four bullets towards Belos who dodged them this time, but was forced to keep his distance.

"Eternal Pain!" Burne came crashing down from the sky. Enzo barely managed to dodge the physical attack, but the flames still reached him. The paving shattered beneath the impact as Burne crashed into the rocks and flames shot out in all directions. Enzo however stayed calm enough to aim a gun at Burne through the flames. Usagi had been forced back by the fire, but Anwyn barely even felt the heat. She kicked against Enzo's wrist forcing the barrel away from her comrade a second before the shot rang out.

"Hell's Breath!" She exhaled a stream of fire against Enzo forcing him back once again. He narrowly evaded it by jumping to the side. He raised the other gun towards her face and pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed past Anwyn's head and she heard Belos curse as he was forced back again. Why didn't Enzo attack her? Twice already she had left herself wide open.

Suddenly something wrapped itself around her ankles and pulled. She slammed face first into the ground and was dragged away from Enzo who pulled out two new guns. Burne had flown back up into the air again and was now hovering over them watching the scene. Anwyn flipped around on her back and now she was able to see what had caught her. A man was dragging her towards him. The sharpened chain-links, which had wrapped itself around her ankles, dug deep into her skin. She leaned forward grabbed the small dart at the end of the chain and loosened it enough to get free.

Seven persons were standing at the entrance to the small castle. A tall pale man completely clad in white stood in the centre. His face showed a broad smile sporting perfectly white teeth. A single sheet of paper was fluttering around his torso. The paper pirates had found them. His crewmembers stood slightly behind him. Anwyn gritted her teeth and stepped back. Usagi had flipped open both of her war fans and took a defensive stance. Her face showed grim determination. Belos stood at her side with one hand still in a claw like gesture.

"I didn't think we would have more guests than our dear Enzo." Faren smiled and more sheets of paper peeled of his skin. "Who are you? You don't look like marines?"

"We're the Black Fox Pirates." Anwyn shouted straightening up completely. "Who the hell are you?"

"How rude of you not to recognise me." Faren drawled and more and more paper fluttered around him. "Maybe this will jog your memory! Paper Coffin!" A rush like a thousand wings filled the air and hundreds of papers shoot towards Anwyn covering her completely in mere seconds.

"ANWYN!" Usagi screamed. She tried to run over to her, but Belos grabbed her arm.

A second later smoke started rise around Anwyn and after a few more flames burst through the papers. Fire was growing around her as Faren whistled admiringly. "Not bad. If you wouldn't give me that look I'd offer you to join my crew. You're Devi the Demon, right? The girl who slaughtered a whole crew with traders."

"Yes." Anwyn replied and looked to her right as Burne landed next to her switching back into his hybrid form.

"Damn bastard is staying below the archway. Couldn't get a clean shot on him. You alright?"

"Yeah. Just a bit out of breath." She glanced over at Burne. "What should we do?"

"Just sit back and pray that I don't change my mind and kill you." Faren replied instead of Burne, then turned his attention towards Enzo. "Join my crew Trigger D. Enzo. We're part of Rainard's fleet and soon he will be strong enough to conquer all of the South Blue."

"No." Enzo simply said. "I won't go with you either. I don't like your face."

"Why? Why don't you come with us? Rainard is a generous man." Faren asked stepping forward. His crew followed him. "After he has conquered the South Blue there will be only those who were with him or against him."

"I don't like him either." Enzo replied and aimed his gun at Faren's face. "He kills women and children and you show no hesitation as well to attack a young lady. Let me go and none of you will come to harm."

"You didn't seem like you had the upper hand in this little scuffle. Think about what you will…"

BANG! The bullet left a hole in Faren's forehead spraying white confetti over the paving. "I said, I won't join you. So bugger off confetti-man."

 **A few minutes earlier**

"I knew it. I bloody knew it. I should have gone with Burne." Edward growled as they were running through the streets. Omoi followed him with the sword drawn.

"The Paper Pirates will have found them by now, or they're already in a fight." Omoi said and jumped over a small bush, which grew in the middle of the street. Just as he had finished the sentence the gunshots ceased.

"God dammit!" Edward pulled out his gun. "We need to hurry! I'll go ahead. Go through the main entrance. I'll take the roofs." He didn't wait for an answer and instead used Geppo to jump up on the roofs and continue on towards the castle.

"Rokushiki-Users." Omoi muttered and broke through a wooden wall with ease not bothering to use his sword. He didn't have enough time to go look for the right way. Drawing his sword he ran as fast as possible up towards the castle. Another wall later he had finally found the main-road and followed it. He could see how Edward jumped up on the roof of the castle. Now that their sniper was in place they would be able to engage them. Jumping on top of the pile of rubble lying in the gateway he drew everyone's attention to him. "Hello!"

All of the Paper Pirates turned towards him. The man in white had to be Faren as his face was just being reformed. "Another Fox-Pirate?" He asked. "How many of you are out there? I don't want to have to search all over this place to root you out."

Omoi leaned his sword against his shoulder and grinned. Now it would have been a good time for a drink, if he hadn't left his gourd on the ship. "Six in total. But if you want to pick a fight, you've chosen some bad opponents paper-man. These two guys over there have eaten fire-type devil fruits."

Faren snorted at that. "A thin layer almost proved enough to smother the girl's flames. I just need some extra sheets and she'll suffocate."

"Try it!" Anwyn taunted raising both her knives. "Burne will make a nice bonfire out of you."

"That would have sounded better without the last part." Belos added under his breath.

"There's no way, I'm going to fight someone with logia powers. Even if it is paper." She shot back. "I'm the chore girl, remember? I deal with the small fries. Like the one with the chain-whip. He has already attacked me once!"

The named paper pirate turned red. "What do you mean with small fry, you little runt? I'm Regan Burton and I've got a 30 million bounty on my head. Captain! Lets kill these rookies and get back to Rainard."

"Hey! Where's Enzo?" Usagi asked looking around. A second later they could hear a door slam inside the castle. He had obviously taken his chance to make a run for it.

"Bloody hell!" Faren cursed. "Kill these guys. They've been nothing but a pain. Jack! There's one on the roof."

Omoi wasn't about to let that happen. Sword raised high he leapt forward, but Zaine met him mid-air. Their blades clashed with a ringing sound. With his free hand Omoi tried to grab him, but Zaine kicked him in the stomach sending him flying out of the gateway again. He crashed into a low building levelling it with the ground in the process.

"Your sword sure his heavy. Almost tore a muscle back there." Zaine grinned shrugging his shoulders as he walked out through the main entrance. He wasn't very tall and lean as a leaf. However his size hid a tremendous amount of strength. A scar ran across his forehead and the pale grey eyes were fixed on the marine. Omoi got back to his feet. Zaine had been able to stop his blade. That didn't happen too often. He eyed the two falcata the man was wielding. They were longer than usual, but slightly thinner. He might be able to shatter them. "What's your name? I don't like fighting people without names."

"Omoi Ken. Helmsman of the Black Fox Pirates. You're Zaine if I'm not mistaken?"

"Indeed." Zaine took an offensive stance. One hand raised up his head and the tip of the blade was aiming at Omoi's chest like a scorpion's tail. Zain's other arm war was pointing straight at his opponents face. "What's your bounty?"

"Also 40 million." Omoi raised his blade and crouched low. Now his shield would have been useful.

 **Meanwhile at the castle**

Edward froze for a split-second when Faren pointed out his exact location. How had he found out? Jack Gilmer, the stout gunner from the paper pirates, needn't be told twice. He immediately aimed his rifle at the roof and fired. Edward used Soru to jump to the side even though he could see that the shot was aimed to high. There had to be something wrong about the bullet. He was right. Just as the bullet was above the place he had formerly been hiding it exploded sending hundreds of shrapnel flying. One grazed him just below the eye. He didn't blink, but instead focused on the sniper. Jack anticipated his line of flight and fired again. With geppo he abruptly changed direction, jumping directly towards his opponent. In mid-air he fired his gun once, but Jack dodged it narrowly.

Faren himself ran after Enzo into the castle. Burne tried to follow him, but Thatcher Hartford jumped him from behind. Roaring with rage Burne flew up into the air taking his enemy with him. Belos, Usagi and Anwyn were attacked by the Burton-siblings.

"GO AFTER FAREN! DON'T LET HIM GET ENZO!" Burne yelled before disappearing out of sight. That was easier said than done. Jack Gilmer fired another one of the shrapnel-bullets forcing everyone to take cover. He took up position at the main entrance to the castle and fired another bullet towards Edward who had taken cover behind a small statue. It was ripped to shreds by the explosion. Cursing he used Soru to get out of range. Corners were useless against that weapon. He needed to get up close. With flying fingers he recharged his colt with different ammunition before firing one bullet against Jack. The entire square was lit by a searing bright light.

"Soru!" Edward darted forward and finally he was in close range with Jack. The paper pirate seemed to sense his present. He ducked and raised his rifle to guard himself from an attack. "Rankyaku!" The attack caught Jack right across the chest, sending him stumbling backward. Using this moment Edward kicked him aside. Now he would be able to take on Faren. He pushed the gate open, but just as he entered a chain wrapped itself around his ankle. Regan pulled him off feet, swung him around in the air and slammed him into ground.

Edward immediately tried to get up on his feet again, but Regan pulled him off-balance. He aimed his gun at Regan and pulled the trigger rapidly three times. With a flick of his wrist the pirate loosened the chain-whip and jumped to the side. One bullet missed, the second grazed his shoulder, the third one his leg. Suddenly something hit Edward in the back sending him stumbling forward. He coughed blood and sunk down on one knee.

"Reed! Regan! Go and help the captain! I'll take care of the rest." Jack shouted. The barrel of his gun was still smoking. He had used the moment when Edward had been distracted to shoot him in the back.

Reed aimed one last swiping blow against Usagi with her cutlass forcing the young woman back. Anwyn, still blinded from the flash bomb, took a direct hit from the chain whip against the temple. She was thrown to the ground and stayed motionless.

Ravenel had a harder time fighting Belos. The doctor had caught his opponent around the throat. His face showed grim determination and his fingers, still in a claw-shape, were locked tight around the man's windpipe. However, the pirate didn't lose his cool. He slammed his fists against each side of Belos' wrist breaking his vice-like grip. Ravenel retreated quickly and pulled out a vicious looking dagger. It was glistening in the sun, as if it was covered in some oily substance. Belos hesitated for a second to pursue him and instead glance over to Anwyn and Edward. Reed and Regan used the opportunity to run into the ruined castle.

"Get out of here!" Edward groaned as he staggered back up to his feet. "I can't fight all out if you're here." Blood was soaking the clothes on his back and he was breathing heavily. Usagi nodded and ran over to Anwyn.

Jack eyed Edward curiously. "I'm impressed that you're still standing after taking a direct hit from my shrapnel gun. But I won't let you go after them." The barrel of his gun moved over towards Usagi who had thrown Anwyn across her shoulders and was running towards the entrance of the castle.

Within the blink of an eye Edward appeared in front of him. Finding his opponent too close to be able to shoot him Jack tried to smash the rifle butt into Edward's face. Edward jumped back, performing half a back-flip. His fingers dug into the stone and his feet caught Jack beneath the armpits.

"Rankyaku!" This time he didn't use the storm leg to cause any cutting damage though. Instead Edward performed the other half of the backflip smashing Jack head first into the ground with the speed of the kick itself. Immediately he let go of the pirate and jumped back again, making sure no one was around anymore. Belos was pursuing Ravenel out of the square and Usagi just disappeared in the castle itself. Finally he was free to go all out. Groaning Jack got back up onto his feet. A trail of blood was running down his forehead blinding one of his eyes, before dripping of his chin.

 **Meanwhile outside the castle**

"Dragons' palm!" Belos landed a solid hit against Ravenel's chest sending him flying backwards into a house. At the same time the pirate managed to make a tiny cut on the doctor's forearm. The cut itself barely hurt, but a second later a searing pain started to spread throughout Belo's arm. Poison! Reacting immediately he grabbed his belt and wrapped it just above his elbow around his arm. With a grunt of effort he pulled it tight, stopping the poison from spreading any further as well as his own bloodflow. He needed to end this fight quickly and apply a compression bandage instead of a tourniquet.

Ravenel climbed out of the rubble. One hand was firmly pressed against his chest. His breathing came ragged and short, but he didn't seem to have any broken ribs. Belos frowned he seemed to have lost his touch. "You still up? Thought I had cut you before." Ravenel said, before spotting the make shift tourniquet around Belos arm. "Smart move. I wonder though how you plan to use your arm during the fight. No blood circulation means, that there's no energy going to your muscles."

Belos reached inside a small bag and took out a small leave. He put it inside his mouth chewing carefully. It tasted sweet for a second, then it turned sour. His jaw cramped in a sudden spasm, but it would be worth it. The herb would counter at least a part of the poison. He continued to chew and waited. Ravenel advance slowly continuously shifting his knife from right to left. Belos reached inside another small bag and pulled out a pinch of powder. Quickly he rubbed it over the wound, gritting his teeth against the pain. The skin turned red. With a scalpel he cut the wound deeper then also added another cut across it, before loosening the makeshift tourniquet. The blood rushed back into the limb, making him dizzy for a moment. It gushed out of the two cuts taking a good part of the poison with it. The rest however made its way deeper into Belos body.

Ravenel jumped forward switching the knife into a reverse grip. Belos dodged the swing by jumping to the side, but Ravenel was quick on his feet and the blade was even quicker. He tossed it up in the air, caught it by the handle with his other hand. With a wide sweeping motion the tip caught Belos thigh. Again something similar like liquid fire instead of blood seemed to course through his veins. With his wounded arm he tossed a pinch of powder towards the pirate forcing him back again.

This time he only had time to rub the wound with a pinch of herbs, before Ravenel attacked him again. His leg and arm didn't obey his commands anymore making him move in a sluggish uncontrolled manner. He needed to counterattack quickly.

"Stay still! I'll promise I'll end this quickly." A wicked cut almost caught Belos in the throat. In a quick motion Ravenel switched the blade to the reverse grip again aiming a thrust against Belos shoulder. Before he could build up any momentum Belos caught Ravenel's wrist with his wounded arm gaining another small cut. Ravenel dropped the blade, caught it with his other hand and thrust against Belos abdomen. The doctor sidestepped the attack and tossed a pinch of powder into the pirates face. Ravenel gave a bloodcurdling scream. The knife dropped to the ground as he reached with both of his hands for his eyes. A pale red liquid started seeping from them leaking between his fingers.

"My eyes! I'm blind!"

"For the moment yes." Belos replied and stepped towards the pirate. The poison was starting to take its toll on him now. His vision was going blurry. He needed to end this fight as quickly as possible. "Dragon's Palm!" His hands formed the clawlike gestures from before. Ravenel had dropped down to a kneeling position still covering his eyes with both hands. "Twin Strike!" The first blow hit Ravenel right on top his heart doubling him over with pain. The second struck him right across the forehead. The force knocked him unconscious immediately. He sagged to the ground and Belos sat down heavily next to him. With one foot he rolled the pirate on this side and tipped a bit of water across his eyes. They stopped oozing the pink liquid after a few splashes of water and Belos downed the rest of the water together with some antidotes. It would leave him weakened for a while, but at least the poison wouldn't kill him. Clumsily he got back up his feet and looked to the castle just in time to see a huge pillar of fire shoot up into the sky.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Next Chapter is already in process.**


	8. Showdown in the Ruins (Part 1)

**Took me longer than expected to finish this chapter but I hope you'll enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Showdown in the Ruins (Part 1)**

Burne eyed his opponent carefully. He had landed on top of the largest tower and managed to shake off Thatcher. The pirate just got back up on his feet, brushing the dust of his coat. He was tall, with broad shoulders and spiky blond hair. His nose was slightly crooked. It must have been broken once and not straightened correctly.

Burne switched back into his hybrid form and raised his fists. "You're Thatcher Hartford, right? 55 Million bellies."

Thatcher simply nodded and raised his hands. His fingers were kept straight though. Ducking low he approached Burne with slow deliberate steps. His hands were in constant motion making an almost hypnotizing pattern in the air.

"Snake style?" Burne cocked his head and raised his fists. "Come on. I'll break your fingers with one punch."

Thatcher grinned at that statement and jumped forward. His hand darted forward aiming for Burne's throat. He blocked the blow with his forearm and tried to grab his assailant by the shoulder, but Thatcher was too quick. He sidestepped him and struck the thick knot of muscles right above Burne's knee. The marine grunted from the pain, but his trident like tail struck forward like snake landing a solid hit right into the pirate's stomach, sending him flying backwards. Immediately he tried to pursue him, but his leg buckled under his weight. That damn bastard had struck a pressure point. He hobbled back to gain some distance and switched to his full demon form again. He needed the advantage. Thatcher darted forward aiming high, but striking low and managed to plant a solid kick against Burne's already weakened leg. The marine commander reacted immediately. He caught Thatcher's leg with one hand and summoned fire around his other.

"Devil Slasher!" Claws engulfed in fire he punched Thatcher right in the abdomen smashing him into the ground. Gasping from the pain the pirate still lashed out with one arm and struck Burne right below the ear.

The world turned black for a moment. Burne stumbled. The pressure point was sending out waves of searing pain across his body. Thatcher got back up to his feet. His movements were quick, but he too was panting heavily. The front part of his shirt had been consumed by the fire revealing a large burn and bruises. He shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands again. "That was a good strike, big man." He complimented him and started to circle Burne slowly.

"Come a bit closer and I'll give you another one." Burne grunted and tried to shake the pain off. His vision was blurred and his left arm had gotten weaker as well. These pressure points were a real pain.

Thatcher laughed and stepped a bit closer. "I might just give it a try."

"Hell Spin!" Burne spun around and sent a wave of fire against his opponent to gain some time. Thatcher was quicker than him, there was no doubt about that. He needed a way to pin him to one place in order to get him with one of his strongest attacks. Thatcher evaded the attack by jumping over it. Using the momentum he spun around trying to land a dropkick to Burne's head. The large marine blocked it with his forearm and threw a straight punch towards Thatcher's face. The pirate nimbly moved out of its way, striking a pressure point at the wrist at the same time. Burne grunted from the pain, but at the same time his tail wrapped itself around Thatcher's foot and pulled him off balance. His fist landed with a satisfying crunch in the middle of Thatcher's face. His knuckles rendering the nose effectively to some sort of mush.

Thatcher stumbled backwards. Blood was spurting from both his nostrils. Burne grinned devilishly and pulled Thatcher back into his reach again. Time to beat this guy to a pulp. He drew back his large fist and threw another hard blow. Thatcher simply dropped to the ground effectively dodging the punch. At the same time his hands reached out in a flurry of motions landing several hard hits against Burne's sternum and his abdomen. The large marine stumbled backwards. His grip around Thatcher's foot loosened. Thatcher didn't give him a chance to recover. He followed Burne with a few smooth steps and lashed out at his pressure points. The thicker skin of his demon form didn't help him against those attacks. His muscles were numbed. First the one in his left arm, then the one in his right leg.

"Demon's Rage!" He exhaled a stream of fire against Tatcher trying to force him back. The pirate ducked under it and drew back his fist.

"Heart Crusher!" The blow was sharp and precise, striking directly on Burne's precordium. The fire was abruptly cut off. Burne sunk down to his knees then fell flat down on the ground.

 **Inside the Castle**

His guns were useless. The bullets just passed right through that damned paper guy. He dodged a single sheet of paper and continued to run, cursing violently. He needed to get his hands on some fire.

"How come someone like you got a bounty of 100 Million bellies? You're not even that strong." Another bullet passed through Faren spraying the ground with shredded paper. "You don't possess any Haki nor bullets of seastone." Faren spread his arms and hundreds of papers started to peel off and circle around him. "How will you escape this?" He made a quick motion with his arm and a dozen of the sheets started to circle around Faren. He shoot down two of them before Faren clenched his hand to a fist. "Paper cut."

Enzo managed to dodge three of them before a paper opened a deep gash in his leg. Faren made a barely noticeable motion with his fingers making the rest of his papers only grazing him.

"I'll never join you. So stop going easy on me." Enzo snarled and fired another two bullets at the captain of the paper pirates, shooting out both of his eyes blinding him for a second. He turned around and ran down a narrow spiral stair. He couldn't hold up for much longer, not against a logia type.

Fire! He needed fire. He slung one of his powder horns of his back and checked how much he still had left. It was almost full. Grabbing his second powder horn he filled the first one to the brim, then screwed it tightly shut. The sound of thousands of papers flying through the air drew his attention back to the staircase. Faren had dissolved into countless sheets in order to follow him.

With a curse he tossed the powder horn towards the mass and shot a single bullet. The explosion was massive as it had nowhere else to go than up and down the narrow staircase. Enzo was sent flying down the stairs as the shockwave reached him. He was smashed against a wall and rolled down a few stairs before coming to a halt. Groaning he got back up to his feet and shook his head. His ears were ringing from the explosion. A small rock fell down on top of his head and first now he realized that the ground was shaking beneath him. He looked up eyes widening with sudden realization. The whole staircase was collapsing. So much for his idea! He turned and ran. There was no way he would survive being buried beneath tons of rock. From above he could hear someone yell in frustration and a good deal of pain. Enzo grinned. The explosion did have some effect on him after all then.

 **In the city**

The swords clashed together with a ringing sound. Omoi noticed that Zaine was keeping his odd stance. One arm raised up behind his head like a scorpions tail. Omoi forced Zaine's guard down and immediately switched his movement to a lunge. Zaine made a single step and avoided it by a margin. His right hand darted forward and the tip of the sword opened a small cut right below Omoi's eye. All the time he kept the left hand above his head the tip of the blade aiming towards his opponent's chest. Omoi jumped back a few steps and switched the blade from his right to his left hand. This Zaine was a real pain. He was quick on his feet and even though he had the shorter swords he had gotten dangerously close.

The style of his fighting remembered Omoi of a fencer, but the sword above Zaine's head was the one actually worrying him. He blocked another quick blow and counterattacked with a hard sweeping blow. Zaine leant backwards and suddenly Omoi's guard was wide open. Quick like a scorpion Zaine's secondary weapon whipped forward opening a deep gash across Omoi's chest.

Cursing Omoi stumbled backwards. Blood was soaking his shirt in a rapidly growing red spot.

"How did you like that? I call that little trick the Scorpion-Strike!" Zaine raised his weapons again and stepped closer. "Hold still and I finish this quickly."

"Don't take me too lightly." Omoi stated and his eyes started to glow with a plae green light. Slowly the light was growing stronger and Omoi himself suddenly shrank to the size of a blade of grass. Confused by this sudden turn of events Zaine stopped dead in his tracks and jumped back, from where he had last seen Omoi disappear.

"Where the hell are you? Are you only using your devil fruit to hide?" He taunted, only to feel something like a brick wall punch him in the face in the next second. Several teeth broke off and the taste of blood filled his mouth. A tiny figure landed on a small rock next to him and abruptly grew in size again. It didn't take long before Omoi was standing in his full length before him again. He flipped the grip of his sword up into the air with one foot and gripped the weapon by its blade.

"Murder Strike!"

Zaine was caught off guard by this attack, as he had never expected his opponent to grip his own weapon by the blade. He tried to block the blow with one of his swords, but the heavy steel-pommel shattered his falcata before smashing right into his temple sending him crashing into one of the old abandoned houses. Omoi tossed his weapon back up into the air and caught it by the handle again. The marine soldier grinned and walked with slow deliberate steps towards the house. That was his reason he kept his devil fruit a secret. No need to give his enemies an advantage over him. A piece from the wall was suddenly thrown towards him when he was only three steps away from the destroyed building. A single blow from him shattered the rotten wood. In the next second the falcata cut deep into his shoulder. Zaine had used the wall as cover to attack him. Omoi sunk down on one knee. The blade was edged deep into his collar bone.

"That was your last mistake." He grunted through gritted teeth. With his free hand he grabbed Zaine's wrist. His fingers locked tightly in a bone-crushing grip. Slowly he got back up to his feet and raised his sword. "You won't get away this time!"

Zaine struggled to get free. His eyes were locked on Omoi's blade. "Hold it! I yie…" Omoi didn't listen. He brought the blade down hard. Even though the edge was blunt, the tip tore through muscles, bone and flesh. Blood sprayed the ground and Zaine sagged down on top of the rubble.

"God dammit. I could really use a drink right now." He muttered. He grabbed a hold of the sword still stuck in his shoulders and yanked it out with a sudden movement. The blood trickled warm and sticky down his chest and was soaked up by his shirt. He needed bandages and that quick as possible.

"Omoi!" The voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he saw Belos limping towards him. "You defeated him?"

"Course I did. He's lying there!" He pointed towards the limp body lying in the rubble of the destroyed house. Belos didn't pay the pirate any attention and instead checked Omoi's wounds.

The burly marine tried to shrug him off. "Stop fussing. It's just some scratches. Nothing serious."

"You had a sword stuck in your shoulder. It needs stitches or at least a pressure bandage. So sit your ass down if you don't want to bleed to death." Belos growled and started to unpack his bag. With a pair of scissors he cut off Omoi's shirt and started to tend to his wounds.

"You're wounded as well." Omoi said as he watched the doctor's bandaged arm. "But as you're still walking, I'll guess that you took down your opponent."

"You're guessing right." Belos muttered. "Bastard used a poisoned knife. Didn't do him any good in the end. I used a pinch ofDendrocnide moroides to blind him then knocked him unconscious. He didn't fight fair, so I didn't either."

"What is Dendro… denroc… whatever. What is that supposed to be?"

"It's actually a highly toxic type of nettle tree. In small doses and mixed with some other herbs it can be used as a powerful antiseptic. However, used alone it will cause intense pain. If you touch the plant with your bare hand thousands of needles will bury into the top of your skin. These needles are microscopic small and hollow. Inside that hollow space is the toxin. It attacks the nerves and can cause pain over the course of several months." He explained and tightened the bandage around Omoi's chest, causing the tall man to flinch with pain.

"Damn. That sounds… nasty."

"It is." Belos agreed simply and secured the bandage with a small knot. "Done. Did you see where Burne flew off to?"

Omoi nodded and got back up on his feet. "Come I'll show you the way."

 **In the courtyard**

"Burst Bullet!" The explosion sent a shower of pebbles clattering against the walls. Jack had taken cover behind a piece of a tower which had fallen down into the courtyard a long time ago. He fired another one of his shrapnel-bullets in Edward's direction, but he used Soru to dodge it. He needed to finish this. He was bleeding badly. The shrapnel had damaged several of his back muscles. With flying fingers Edward put a new round of ammo into his gun, before taking cover behind one of the broken statues.

He had lost sight of Jack for the moment, but he knew the sniper was behind the broken pieces of the tower. "Soru!" In an instant he was behind Jack's cover, but the sniper was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly there was a clicking noise. An almost invisible thread sprung into the air. A small metallic ring was attached to its end. In the next second a deafening explosion shook the courtyard. Claymores! Jack had planted them while he had reloaded his gun. Geppo was the only thing that saved his life. His left leg still took three bullets tossing him off balance in the air. Edward fell heavily down to the ground and stayed still. He could hear rubble being moved aside as Jack climbed out of his makeshift hideout. Edward stayed still, he wanted Jack to be as close as possible.

"Finally dead." He heard Jack mutter. The footsteps coming closer were slow and unsteady. The pirate had gotten hurt badly apparently. Waiting patiently Edward finally felt Jack's presence right next to him. He rose in one fluid motion striking the barrel of Jack's gun away from him and hitting him hard with an uppercut right under the chin sending him flying up in the air. Edward raised his gun too careful aim and pulled the trigger. "Flaming Dragon!" A roaring pillar of fire soared up into the air. Jack didn't even have time to utter a scream before the fire engulfed him. Edward took a few steps to the side and in the next second Jack's motionless and smoking body slammed down on the ground next to him.

"Damn pirate. All you can do is backstabbing and laying traps." Edward reached for his back. His fingers met the sticky wetness of his own blood. He shook his head, he was getting careless. Never before he had been shot in the back or stumbled across over a claymore. His thoughts were with Anwyn and Usagi. They were in the castle right now fighting Faren and the other two Burton siblings.

 **Inside the castle**

"Anwyn! Wake up! They're ahead of us." Usagi patted the younger woman's face none too gently. Anwyn groaned and her eyes flew open.

"What happened?" She asked and sat straight up.

Usagi stood up again and took a hold of both her war fans. "He got you with his chain whip."

"No, I mean before that. There was something like a sun in the courtyard. Blinded me completely." She rubbed her eyes with both hands. "Bloody hell. I can still see the afterimages."

"That was a flashbang from Edward. You turned around just as it exploded." Usagi knelt down and checked the ground. There were several footprints in the thick dust. Two had been moving in a faster pace as the prints were further apart. The other two had been moving more carefully. Those had to be Reed and Regan Burton. "We need to watch our steps. They might want to lure us into a trap. Don't activate your fire instead use your soul vision." Usagi ordered. Her usual shy and awkward manner had been replaced by a professional demeanour. "We have to work together in order to take them down."

"How do you know about my Soul Vision?" Anwyn asked bewildered.

"You were a wanted person and the marine is good at collecting intel." Usagi shrugged. "Lets go. We have to save Enzo or take him down. Depending if he reconsiders our offer."

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 **I hope I'll find time to update the next chapter soon, but I have exams in the coming weeks so I have to study for them.**

 **Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Please leave me a review to tell me what you think and I also need some more oc's for Rainard's fleet so feel free to send me them in a pm.**


	9. Comrade in Arms

**Hello guys**

 **Sorry that you had to wait so long for this chapter. I had three exams the last few weeks. I made the chapter a bit longer than usual though, so maybe you'll forgive me. Hope there aren't too many mistakes and that you'll enjoy reading this chapter.**

 **A big shoutout to theDarkRyder for sending me an absolutely awesome villain oc-crew. I'm already looking forward to include them in the story.**

* * *

 **Comrade in Arms**

Burne's heart was racing. The stress of the blow was forcing it to pump faster than ever. Suddenly the ground started to shake. Thatcher cursed and fought to keep his balance. The rocks crumbled beneath them. Half the tower collapsed into a huge cloud of smoke and dust. From bellow Burne could hear a roar of rage and pain. It didn't sound like one of his crew members. That was good. He closed his eyes for a second and considered his situation. Thatcher needed to be pinned down. As soon as Burne had him slowed down he could beat him to a pulp. The problem was that Thatcher Hartford was fast as lightning. He opened his eyes again and looked around. Thatcher was standing at the broken edge of the tower and was obviously pondering on how he could get down again. Burne grinned. He just had a brilliant idea. Groaning he got up to his knees and Thatcher turned towards him, a look of surprise on his face.

"I compliment you on surviving that blow. Most people's hearts tend to burst at the force of my punch."

"Most people are weaker than me." Burne grunted and spat out some blood and switched to his full demon form. "I've just had an idea how to beat you."

Thatcher laughed. "Good luck with that. I've beaten you down once. I can do it again."

"I needed some time to get up with a plan. Don't think I was lying around for such a long time, because I was hurt." He spread his wings and catapulted himself up into the air. Thatcher looked after him frowning.

"Are you running away now? I thought you had a plan on how to beat me." He taunted.

Abruptly Burne spun around and performed a swift kick. A sharp compressed air blade cut through the stone right in front of Thatcher. The pirate quickly jumped backwards away from the crumbling rocks. "You missed and I wasn't even moving." He grinned. "Come down and fight like a man."

Burne didn't respond to his teasing. Instead he kicked the air four more times. Each time the top of the tower crumbled and the platform got smaller and smaller. Slowly realization dawned on Thatcher and he looked up. Burne was hovering over him grinning broadly. Fire started to spread around his shoulders and he flung himself down with a powerful beat of his wings. Thatcher raised his fists.

"Heart Crushers!" Thatcher threw a straight blow towards Burne's ribs, but the marine turned in the air in the last second, before surrounding himself with fire.

"Eternal Pain!" Thatcher's fist connected with Burne's shoulder, but it was no use. His wrist broke with the sharp snapping noise of a dry twig. His arm buckled like a wet rag, before Burned smashed with full force into him. The top of the tower collapsed under the force of the impact, sending up a cloud of fire, dust and smoke as Burne also crashed through the second floor. The third floor cracked as well but finally stopped them. Panting heavily Burne got back up and switched to his hybrid form. Thatcher was lying badly burned and with multiple broken bones on the ground.

"Told you I had a plan." Burne chuckled and rubbed his shoulder with one hand. The punch had stung a bit. Suddenly a deep groan shook the whole tower and rocks started to fall down through the hole in the floors above him. Burne looked up and cursed. Apparently his last attack had been too much for this old ruin. The tower was collapsing. He switched to his full demon form again and jumped out through a window. With a few strong beats of his wings he was well away from the tower and turned around. The old building tilted slowly towards the main building of the castle. Burne gulped. Hopefully there was no one of his crew inside the castle. There was no way he could stop the tower from falling over now.

 **Inside the castle a few minutes earlier**

Anwyn was running after Usagi. They both had their weapons drawn and ready. The Burton siblings wouldn't be able to surprise them this time. Anwyn's eyes were glowing with a pale blue as she had activated her soul vision.

"Right in front of us. Behind the two pillars in that great hall." Anwyn whispered and both of them slowed down. Flickering flames lit up the room as Anwyn activated her devil fruit. "Wait I've got an idea. There's something I want to try out." Without waiting for a response she sat down next to the entrance to the great hall, so she was hidden by the wall. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The flames flickered then died down.

"We don't have time to take a rest, Anwyn." Usagi hissed. "We have to get going. They're right in front of us."

"Just give me a second." Anwyn asked. Her forehead was wrinkled of concentration and suddenly the flames roared up around her again. "Hell Hound!" She whispered. A head grew out from the flames. First came the snout, then the eyes and the rest of the body. It was completely made out of fire, its form flickering in the draft. Anwyn had gone completely still. Her breathing had slowed down and there were no more flames around her. The flaming spectre was eyeing Usagi with its green eyes, baring its flaming teeth. Usagi grinned, now she understood what Anwyn had in mind.

"Let's go. Take care of Regan and I'll take Reed."

The flaming spectre nodded, before running into the great hall with Usagi tightly on his heels. The Hellhound immediately headed for one of the large pillars. Regan cried out in pain as the flames touched him, before he managed to jump to the side. Reed immediately rushed to his aide and slashed at the flames with her sabre. The blade passed right through without doing any damage. The hellhound spun around and tried to bite her leg, but Reed jumped back avoiding the attack narrowly.

"What the hell? You knocked out the flame-girl before Regan!" She cursed and raised her sword in the last second to block a blow from one of Usagi's war fans.

"She's no Logia Type. It's some kind of trick." Regan yelled and dodged another attack from the hellhound. A quick flick of his wrist had the chain whip form a snare which wrapped itself around the neck of the spectre. Except it didn't. The chain passed right through. Regan cursed and jumped to the side dodging another attack from the hellhound in the last second.

With a swiping movement Usagi redirected a wicked upwards cut from Reed and whacked the pirate against the temple with her other war fan. The blow wasn't hard. Just enough to stun Reed for a moment and making her close her eyes for one second. At the same time Usagi folded her war fan together, turning it into an almost solid steel club. She performed a short jab against towards Reed's chest, effectively knocking the wind out of her, before landing a solid kick in her stomach sending her crashing into one of the stone pillars. The ringing sound of chain links had her jump to the side and in the next second the chain whip crashed down on the spot where she had been standing right before.

"Focus on her!" Regan yelled. "We'll take care of the dog later."

Usagi suddenly found herself being in the defensive now. It took all of her concentration to not get caught by the chain whip. At the same time Reed attacked her with her cutlass. The hellhound tried get a hold of Regan, but he dodged her swiftly and didn't bother counterattacking as he knew it had no use. Anwyn wasn't able to shield Usagi from any of the attacks either as all solid objects passed right through her. Usagi blocked another swing from Reed and locked her in, but before she could counterattack with her second war fan the chain whip wrapped itself around her wrist. The links of the chain had been forged razor-sharp. As Regan pulled it tight, they dug deep into her skin. Blood welled up. Reed punched Usagi in the face, freed her cutlass and performed a diagonal downward cut opening a deep gash in Usagi's shoulder. Letting out a triumphant scream Reed raised the cutlass above her head, for the final blow. In that very second Anwyn latched onto her leg. She had realized that she wouldn't be able to catch Regan so instead she focused on Reed while the woman was distracted. Her flaming teeth dug deep into Reed's calve and the woman screamed out in pain.

"REED!" Regan yanked Usagi to the side in order to get to his sister. "You filthy mutt!" He swung his chain-whip against the hellhound, but again it passed right through.

Usagi landed heavily on the ground, but was quickly back to her feet. Reed had stabbed the flaming spectre with her sword and Regan was running towards her, but it was too late. The hellhound slowly started to glow with an intense bright light, before erupting into a pillar of flames covering Reed completely in fire.

Usagi gasped and covered her face as the wave of heat reached her. The pillar of flames disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. Reed made a slow stumbling step forward. Regan ran over to her raising one hand in an attempt to steady her. Reed was hurt badly, but wasn't about to go down yet.

"You bitch! I'm going to kill you slowly for this. How dare you hurt my sister like this?" Regan screamed in rage. "You're going to suffer!"

"She will. How dare she destroy my features in such a vile manner?" Reed's voice was trembling with anger and pain.

"It wasn't her. It was me." A voice replied and Anwyn walked up next to Usagi. She was covered in a thin sheet of sweat and her weapons were trembling slightly in her hands.

"You alright?" Usagi asked in a quiet voice. Her comrade seemed to be completely exhausted.

"Yes, it's okay. I'm sorry that I didn't get him. He was too quick."

"I've had worse." Usagi shrugged, but it was only half the truth. The wound was hurting badly and the movement caused a fresh wave of blood surge out. She gritted her teeth and ignored Anwyn's worried frown.

"I'll take Regan, Usagi. I'm in better shape right now."

"You're less experienced and younger. I'll take…"

Instead of waiting for Usagi to finish Anwyn raised her knives. "Soru!" She disappeared in a cloud of dust and reappeared in front of Regan. With a metallic clang her right knife struck against the strained steel links of the chain-whip. Regan had raised it between his tightened fists in order to block her attack. "Hell's flame!" Flames roared up around her left hand and she hurled them towards Regan's face. The pirate dodged them with a quick sidestep and kicked her in the side, sending her crashing into a pillar. With a flick of his wrist he sent the tip of the chain-whip after her.

Usagi jumped forward and struck the steel-tip away with one of her war fans. However, she was forced back by Reed who attacked her in blind rage. Her sword danced around performing a flurry of fast stabs. The sound of steel clashing against each other filled the room and Usagi found herself pressed hard. She was driven back towards the way they had come from.

Anwyn got back up on her feet shaking her head. Regan was strong, probably stronger than her. He was slowly approaching her an evil grin on his face. His chain-whip was moving so fast she was barely able to follow it with her eyes.

"You're going to suffer for hurting my sister, you little bitch." His chain-whip zipped forward opening a small cut on Anwyn's neck, which was immediately seared shut by her devil fruit powers. A quick movement made the chain swing out to the side. Anwyn ducked, but the chain got stuck in her hair and she got pulled off balance. With a hard yank Regan pulled her towards him and kicked her right in the face. Her head snapped to the side and she spat blood. She tried to stab him with one knife, but he dodged her attack and pressed a small button on the handle of his chain-whip. A small jack-knife swung out. Anwyn jumped away, desperately trying to gain some distance between him and her. She needed to get the chain out of her hair. With one hand she reached back and cut off her hair with the knife, before he could pull her back in again.

"Clever girl." Regan complimented her and started to swing his chain-whip again. "However, sooner or later I'll get you."

A deafening crash interrupted their fight as the ceiling of the castle caved in, separating Usagi from Anwyn. The tower Burne had toppled over had crashed down on the main building smashing it to pieces. Both Anwyn and Regan tried to run away. However, they were too close to the falling tower. The debris smashed the floor and it collapsed right under their feet, flinging them both down into darkness.

"Anwyn!" Usagi ran over to the hole in the ground and looked down, but she couldn't see anything. Anwyn was gone. Only a small part of the lower levels were lit by the sunlight. She scanned the ground for any signs. First there was only darkness, but after a while she spotted something glinting in the sunlight and she looked closer. One of Anwyn's knives was lying on the floor beneath her, next to a gaping hole in ground. There seemed to be multiple levels under this castle. Suddenly she heard Reed groan behind her. Usagi picked up both of her war fans and turned around. The pirate had gotten back on her feet. The cutlass in her right hand was trembling slightly, but her footing was steady and she had a murderous gleam in her eyes.

Usagi gulped and instinctively took a step back, but then forced herself to take on a defensive stance. Reed was badly hurt. She'd be able to take her on, despite her own wounds. Without a moment of hesitation she darted forward aiming a shattering blow to Reed's sternum. The pirate dodged it nimbly and performed a quick jab trying to stab Usagi right trough the heart. That was exactly what the young marine had waited for. The move she had planned was a tricky one. A sidestep out of balance, but if done correctly Usagi could get past her opponents guard. Reed's blade grazed Usagi's side, tearing up a long but shallow cut on her side. Usagi wrapped her left arm around Reed's sword arm and rammed the tip of her folded war fan right into her opponent's armpit. A ghastly shriek echoed through the castle as the bones of Reed's arm socket cracked with a sickening crunch. The cutlass fell to the ground with a metallic clatter and Usagi immediately continued her attack. With her second war fan she struck Reed rapidly in the sternum and then in the throat forcing her coughing and spitting down on her knees.

Usagi quickly released her, jumped back, before slamming down the handles of both her war fans right on top of her enemies head, rendering her unconscious. Panting she sunk down on her knees next to Reed's motionless body. She had won, finally. Out of all the three Burton-siblings Reed had had the most notorious reputation and she had defeated her. Her parents would be proud. Usagi grinned and tucked her war-fans back into her belt, before scrambling back up on her feet. Now she needed to help Anwyn. The girl was still inexperienced and she would most certainly need assistance in a fight against Regan. Carefully she walked up to the hole in the floor and peered down. She could see the faint flicker of a small flame and briefly considered jumping down, but dismissed the idea quickly. She would be of no help if she broke her legs. A staircase was what she needed now.

 **Three levels below**

It was dark. She could barely see anything and to top it all Anwyn was soaking wet as well. The knee-deep water had most likely saved her life though. Slowly she got back up to her feet. She was feeling incredibly weak and was shaking. Either it was from the shock of falling down or she had gotten hurt and the shock prevented her from feeling any pain. Regan was lying face up a few meters away from her. He was still unconscious. He must have hit his head when he fell down. Anwyn raised a hand and aimed the palm against him. She needed to finish him off. He would most likely rip her to shreds in a one versus one fight. "Hell's flame!" Instead of a devastating stream of fire shooting out of her palm, all that came out was a small puff of steam. Cursing focused on her energy and tried to surround herself with flames. She only started to steam, as if she had freshly been into a sauna.

"Shitshitshitshit." She tried to rub her hands dry on her pants, but they were as wet as the rest of her. Suddenly Regan groaned and sat up. He still held his chain-whip in one hand.

"What the hell happened?" He murmured and slowly got up. "Where am I?"

Anwyn ran splashing back to the place where she had fallen down and reached down into the water. A sharp pain shot through her fingers as she accidentally grabbed one knife around the blade. The second one was nowhere to be seen.

"You little cunt! Are you responsible for this?" Regan steadied himself with one hand on the ground and stood up. The chain-whip was hanging loosely by his side. "I promised I would kill you for hurting my sister, didn't I?"

Anwyn gulped and raised her knife. Run, she needed to run right now! As long as Regan was still stunned by the fall. She bent down slowly and picked up a rock. Regan's eyes were fixed on her as he tried to figure out what she was up to.

"I yield." Anwyn said in what seemed to be a small and meek voice. "They forced me to join them. I never wanted to."

"As if I give a damn, you little shit." Regan snarled and raised his chain-whip. "I'm going to make you squeal for mercy, before I…" He didn't get any further. Anwyn splashed water at him and in the momentary cover of the thousands of water drops she tossed the rock she had picked up. It hit Regan square in face, splitting his lip and knocking out a tooth. He stumbled backwards, but lashed out with his chain-whip quick as lightening. The heavy iron tip pierced Anwyn's skin just below the collar bone, but she yanked it out before he could gain any advantage through it.

"As if I ever yielded to some sucker like you." She taunted, then turned and ran. The wound in her shoulder started to burn with an intense and searing pain, as her devil fruit powers seared it shut, much slower than usual.

"I'll end you!" Regan roared and charged after her. Anwyn had gotten quite the head start, but he was gaining on her. Desperately she tried to activate her devil fruit power and steam started to rise from her body as the heat evaporated the water. Soon enough the already faint light, which had been falling in from the large hole in the ceiling, disappeared. Anwyn stumbled across a small rock in the water, but regained her balance through a quick step. She needed light if she wanted to find her way out of his labyrinth.

She clenched her hands into fists. Her knuckles whitened and a faint flame flickered around her hands before roaring up and engulfing her completely in fire. Finally she had dried enough to use her devil fruit again. Unfortunately she provided Regan with an excellent target now. The ringing sound of the chain-links warned her just in time to jump to the side and evade his chain-whip.

"Stay still, you little runt!"

Anwyn didn't bother to answer. She landed safely on a small stair leading out of the great chamber they had fallen into and continued to run. Her Soul Vision wouldn't help her in this situation either. She would be able to see Regan, but not his chain-whip nor the walls or stairs. A large room with no draft would be perfect for her fighting style. She'd blind him with smoke then stab him in the back. The heavy steps were gaining slowly on her and she tried to run faster. She needed to get out of this labyrinth as fast as possible.

 **Somewhere outside the castle**

Enzo was standing bent over panting heavily. His hands were steadied on his knees. Blood was dripping from the wounds Faren had inflicted on him. However they were only minor injuries. He had already wrapped a makeshift bandage around the more serious cut in his leg and the bleeding had stopped.

He straightened up and looked back to the castle. One of the towers had collapsed and there was smoke rising over the ruins. Both of the crews seemed too occupied with fighting each other, than to chase after him. If he wanted he could make a safe escape through the forest, maybe even steal one of the pirate ships. Hesitation held him back. From the sounds coming from the castle there was still some fighting going on and both ships were in the harbour. If he wanted to steal one, he'd need to sneak past them.

The best thing would be to lie low, then he'd be able to escape without a risk. Enzo nodded to himself. That would be the wisest thing to do. He threw a last glance over his shoulder before entering a large square garden with a small chapel in the middle. He stopped dead in his tracks. The whole square was full with stunningly beautiful red roses. His eyes went down to the tattoo on the back of his hand, but quickly moved on. This was no time to get sentimental.

He continued his way down the paved road and listened to the eager humming of the bees which were swarming between the roses. Slowly his feet led him up to the small chapel in the middle of the square. The building was surrounded by a small pond and he could spot the orange glint of some fat goldfish swimming around in the water. He'd hide in the chapel. There he'd also have some time to remember Rose. She would have loved this garden. The door to the chapel had rotten away over the time and the windows were broken as well. A large rosebush was growing into the chapel filling the chamber with the scent of the blossoming flowers.

Here he'd be safe. He was sure of it. Rose was watching over him in this place. He was just about to sit down on the ground when he spotted something strange in the rosebush. Carefully not to get pricked by the thorns he bent some twigs aside and spotted the strange fruit. It had the colour of burnished steel. However it had been the darker, almost black swirling patterns on the fruits skin which had caught his attention. He gulped and reached out for it with a trembling hand. A thorn pricked his skin and drew blood but he didn't care. It was a devils fruit. He was sure of it. Rose was watching over him in this place. He was sure of it now.

Without hesitation he sunk his teeth into it, almost gagging of its horrid taste. A taste mixed up from iron, rust and an awful bitterness filled his mouth. He kept chewing until he had forced the whole fruit down. A fit of cough shook him as he swallowed the last bit and he ran out to the pond to gulp down some water to rinse the taste out of his mouth.

Just as he rose up again there was a loud crash from inside the castle. Flames licked out of each window and a flaming creature jumped out of the chapel. A chain whirred after it and wrapped itself around its ankles. It was slammed down on the ground, before being pulled back into the now burning chapel. The creature looked like a giant dog, only that it was covered in flames. It dug its claws into the ground and suddenly it switched form. It morphed into the young woman he had fought before in the courtyard. Anwyn Devi was her name.

"Finally got you, you little bitch!" A coarse voice hissed. Out of the chapel stepped the man holding the chain. He yanked her up in the air, before capturing her around the throat and slamming her down on the ground. The girl gasped and tried to pry his hands away from her throat, but it was no use. Regan was much stronger than her. "I won't let you use that bloody devil fruit anymore either. Die!" He raised the handle and the knife at the end caught the sunlight.

Enzo reacted instinctively. He reached for his guns, pulled one out, but realized at the same time that he was too slow. Regan sunk the blade deep into Anwyn's side, just as Enzo's bullet took him in the chest.

Anwyn cried out in pain as the steel cut through her, but all of sudden she felt the grip around her throat loosen for a second. She pressed the flat of her hand against Regan's face and the other on his chest. "It'll take more than that, you bastard!" She screamed at Regan and the veins in her hands started to glow with a reddish light. Enzo dived into the pond. Whatever she was doing he was feeling the heat on his skin already. "Instant Incineration!"

A massive wall of red fire roared over the surface, vaporising the top of the pond in the process. He stayed down for a couple of seconds before he resurfaced. The roses around them were burning. Thick smoke billowed up in the air. Regan was lying completely still next to Anwyn. The young woman was lying with closed eyes on the steps of the chapel, but she was still awake. She was breathing heavily, one hand closed around the handle of the chain-whip still stuck in her side. Slowly Enzo got up on his feet and got out of the pond again. "Let me help you." He said softly.

Her eyes snapped open and she rolled over so she got up into a kneeling position. "Bugger off." She growled. "I've already troubled myself with this guy. Couldn't fight him in the bloody corridors. They were too narrow and now that I've finally beaten him you show up."

Enzo took a step back. "I helped you. I shot him." He tried to explain himself. The young woman looked terrible, she seemed to be on the brink of a collapse.

"Like hell you did." She snapped, but still took a good look at Regan's body. First now she noticed the hole in his chest. "Oh…"

"Now let me pull out that knife. You need a bandage." He took a step closer to her again.

"You're the enemy." She hissed and grabbed the handle of the chain-whip. Her knuckles whitened and she was breathing sharply through her teeth. "I don't need your help!" With those words she yanked the knife out of her side. A few drops of blood stained the ground before her devil fruit powers seared the wound shut again. Her knees were shaking when she got back up on her feet. "You know of our plan. I have to take you out. Even if you did help me." Each step from her was slow and he could have avoided her easily if he had wanted to, but instead Enzo stood still.

"You can barely stand anymore. You're only hurting yourself. Let me help you."

Instead of a reply she tried to punch him in the face. He caught her fist before it could connect and held it down. "Hold it now. I won't hurt you. It isn't proper to fight a lady."

"You know about Fujitora's offer. You've read his letter. I have no choice. The pardon won't be given to me if I fail here." She stopped trying to free her fist, realizing it was no use. Instead she looked up into his face. "Why did you shoot him? It would have been easier for you to just escape."

"I couldn't leave a lady who was in need of my assistance."

She snorted at that, then flinched in pain and reached up with one hand to cover her nose. During her fight in the tunnel the side of the chain-whip had caught her right across the nose and had shattered the bone. Her devil fruit had melted it back together but it was still crooked. She pressed one finger to the side of her nose and snorted out some soot and snot. Enzo looked slightly grossed out and quickly released her as she repeated the process with her other nostril. Anwyn only shrugged at the face he made.

"What?" She asked, the grinned. "It's always like that. If I get internal bleedings the blood is reduced to soot. It tickles a lot, so I try to get rid of it." She explained and wiped the remnants from her upper lip with her sleeve.

"That's… a good thing I suppose." Enzo said weakly and tucked his gun back into his belt.

"Why don't you join us? You don't seem like a bad guy. You helped me and back in the courtyard you didn't shoot me even though you had the opportunity twice."

"I don't want a pardon. I have no regrets for what I did. It was justice."

"What did you do?" Anwyn asked curiously.

"I avenged the death of my wife. Or she would have been my wife by now. Her murderer was a distant relative to one of the world nobles. He wasn't charged for the deed and when I killed him… well his murder is the reason for my bounty of 100 million bellies."

Anwyn tilted her head and looked at him. "Maybe that's the reason. Fujitora probably offered me this job because he thinks the world government was unjust to me. So he organized everything. Gave me a chance to get back to a normal life."

Enzo laughed and shook his head. "You call this a normal life? You're a dog of the marines. A lovely dog I might be so bold to add. But as soon as Fujitora sees no more use in you, he will abandon you."

"He will not!" Anwyn glowered and clenched her hands into fists. "He's a good man, a man of real justice. He has saved me twice already. First time when he captured me. The second time, when another marine captain tried to kill me, and as that failed tried to have me executed for attacking him. If I'd be so disposable Fujitora wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of helping me."

Enzo raised one hand in an apologetic gesture. "Alright, alright. I won't say another word about your precious marine captain."

"So what about our offer? Will you join us?" She repeated her question.

Enzo looked at her for a while. Her hair was a mess. It looked like she had cut it off with a knife, leaving something that looked like a bird's nest on the top of her head. Her face was stained with soot and blood and so were her clothes, but her face still showed grim determination.

"Tell me a reason to join you. Then I might reconsider. But some other than a pardon. I'm not interested in one."

Anwyn bit her lip trying to think of something, then grinned. "You've got nothing to lose. Even if Fujitora will only use you, your situation wouldn't change much. You'd only be fighting pirates instead of marines for a while. And if… if Fujitora really tricks us… how about we'll found our own, real pirate crew then."

Enzo looked at her for a moment then showed his teeth in a bright smile. "Girl, you just got yourself a deal."

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 **Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think about it so far.**

 **Sadly, this will be the last update for a while. I'll have 9 more exams in the coming weeks and the last will be in the end of june. I'll have to focus on them and won't be able to write for that time period. So it'll take me at least another month before the next update.**

 **I'm still in need of some oc-villain crews, so feel free to send them in.**


	10. Showdown in the Ruings (Part 2)

**Here it is, the new chapter. Explanation why it took me so long is at the bottom ;), but for now hope you enjoy it, despite my tardiness**

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 **Showdown in the Ruins (Part 2)**

"You decide to follow the runt instead of me?" A cold voice asked. Both Anwyn and Enzo spun around and found themselves face to face with Faren. Sheets of paper were fluttering around him. "You killed one of my crewmembers. It will be the last you've done in your life." More and more papers started to peel of his body. "Paper Storm! Paper Cut!" The sheets of paper flew towards them and Enzo reacted instinctively. He threw himself before Anwyn, shielding her with his body.

Anwyn had no time to react. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the ground. All she could do, was listening to the thudding sound, as the papers hit Enzo's body. As sudden as the attack had started it ceased. "How can this be?" The disbelief in Faren's voice was clearly audible. "Not a scratch!"

Anwyn looked down on the ground and spotted dozens of crumpled papers on the ground. Enzo grinned. "Seems like I'm in luck." He jumped towards Faren performing a front flip, landing a solid kick on top of the pirate captain's head. Hundreds of papers flew out in every direction, as the pirate used his logia powers to avoid the attack.

"I was able to cut you before. What trick are you using now?" Farend hissed. He spread out his hands and made a quick movement. "Paper Spear!" Again the spear simply bounced off Enzo's chest. However, even though Enzo seemed to be unfazed by Faren's attack, he couldn't land a blow himself. Every time his fists or bullets connected with Faren's body, the pirate dissolved into papers.

"No trick." Enzo replied smugly, "Just some new found abilities."

Faren cursed and aimed one arm against Anwyn, who had pulled back a bit. She had no desire to join in that brawl. Exhaustion had spread through her body and she was in desperate need of a rest. She managed to dodge a single sheet of paper and jumped for cover behind the burning chapel. Faren cursed and sent some papers into the pond surrounding the chapel. Sweat started to form on his forehead from the contact with the water. His brow furrowed in concentration as he weaved a complicated pattern into the air. A huge hammer formed in front of him and hit Enzo square in the face, sending him flying backwards. At the same time hundreds of wet papers flew into the chapel. Anwyn activated her devil fruit, but as soon as the wet sheets connected with her skin her flames were smothered. More and papers caught up to her. "Shave!" She vanished and appeared right in front of Faren again. Her fist was cocked back and she was past Faren's guard. "Soul Impact!"

The knuckledusters connected with a sickening crunch, as Anwyn slammed her fist right into Faren's face. The pirate captain spat out blood and stumbled back. But before Anwyn could gain any advantage from her hit, Faren aimed the palm of his hand against her, before closing it to a fist. "Paper coffin!"

The wet paper caught up to her. Anwyn sliced on in half with her knife, before six sheets tied her arm to her side. "Hell's Breath!" She took a deep breath, ready to let out a stream of flames, but before she could release her attack, a sheet of paper covered her nose and mouth. She couldn't breath anymore. She could hear the papers flutter around her, could feel more and more of them covering her body and face, slowly suffocating her.

Faren laughed madly as he raised one hand into the air, before tossing a mummified Anwyn back down the stairs of the small chapel.

"You bastard!" Enzo bellowed, slamming his fist right into Faren's face. "Serrated Sword!" His arm morphed into a long blade with spikes along the edges, which started to rotate violently, cutting Faren cleanly in half. Shreds of paper were flying everywhere, but Faren simply reformed in a distance. Enzo took his chance and ran towards the chapel. He needed to get Anwyn out of those papers or she would suffocate.

"No, you don't!" A barrage of papers hailed down on top of the stairs causing it to collapse, effectively blocking the entrance to the underground walkways. "I don't know what trick the little shit used to be able to lay a hand on me, but she won't be able to use it again."

Enzo growled and fired multiple bullets at Faren. They all hit their target, but Faren just ignored them and dissolved into millions of papers.

 **Down in the Catacombs**

Anwyn was growing short of breath. The wet paper stuck to her like glue and constricted her movement. Suddenly she could hear the rasping of steel and something cut the paper covering her face apart. Gasping she sucked in a lungful of air.

"Easy." A gruff voice said. Some sparks lit up the narrow corridor and lit a torch. The flames took a second to spread, but soon lit up the man holding it. He was tall, almost seven feet. A golden tooth reflected the light when he flashed her a grin. His grey, spiky hair seemed to reflect the light. "What the hell, where you thinking? Trying to go toe to toe with Paper Faren? You've only mastered one of the rokushiki techniques and Kami-e doesn't help to well against his sort of attacks."

Anwyn simply stared at him open mouthed as he held the torch below her arm in order to burn the paper. "Y-y-y-y-y-you… w-wha-what are you doing here?" She stuttered. The tall man grinned, once again exposing his gold tooth.

"What do you think? I heard about Rainard the Mad and went look what the fuss was about. Then I got word, that you've joined a pirate crew. I couldn't leave my old protégé without saying hello at least." The paper around Anwyn's arm finally caught fire and it allowed the young woman to burn the rest to ashes as well.

Anwyn stood up and looked down on the ground. Her eyes were stinging and a stifled sob escaped her lips. "Hey now. You aren't going to cry, are you? That happy to see me again?" The man put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. In the next second Anwyn's knee connected with his crotch. He doubled over with pain and she punched him straight in the face.

"Why the hell, did you leave me there? You son of a bitch! I needed you, you just bloody left without even saying good-bye." Anwyn screamed with tears in her eyes. She had grabbed him by the scruff of his coat and was shaking him back and forth. "Now you just show up, save me again and think all of it will be forgiven. You're badly mistaken Eifion. I will kick your sorry ass all across this fucking island!"

 **Flashback 4 years ago (Anwyn 12 years old)**

The ship was burning. The storm had washed it ashore, otherwise it would have sunk to the bottom of the sea. He could hear the screams of the slaves. A body was washed up briefly on the shore, before the next wave sucked it back out into the sea. Eifion frowned. There were no visible wounds. A few small scratch marks on his shoulders. Maybe poison was involved. Suddenly a few men broke down a door and a large group of people came running out. The jumped over the railing into the sea, before they swam or waded ashore.

"Demon!" They cried. "A Demon killed them all!"

Eifion grabbed one of the running men. The shackled around the man's feet were a obvious sign, that he was a slave. "What happened?" He asked harshly, giving the man a small shake.

"A Demon. A fiery hound! Killed them all! Then tried to get us. We just survived because we were locked up! She bit them! Pulled something out of their bodies!"

Eifion let go of him. That man was frightened out of his mind. Eifion unsheathed his sword, as soon as the last slave had fled the boat und jumped up on the deck. A slaver was lying dead right in front of him. His body was burned. The next slaver was right behind the door. A look of utter terror was frozen on his face. Eifion turned him around and knelt down next to the dead slaver to check the body. "No obvious wounds. No marks around the throat. No bruises."

Someone groaned. Instantly he was back up on his feet. Careful not to make any noises he made his way over to the lower deck. A single oil lamp was still burning. Two bodies were at the bottom of the stairs. A smaller one and the large form of another slaver. The smaller one appeared to be a young boy. Maybe one of the newer recruits. Apparently his first voyage hadn't brought him any luck. Suddenly the boy moved. His limbs were shaking from exhaustion. Eifion quickly made his way down the stairs. He grabbed the kid by the scruff of his neck and hoisted him over his shoulders. No sign of the demon. He struck the lamp with his sword and the oil spilled out immediately catching fire.

The water felt cold when he jumped down into the sea. The boy hadn't regained consciousness yet. Eifion carried him up on the beach and into the woods. Soon enough the villagers would plunder whatever they could lay their hands on. He couldn't blame them. The seas in this region were overfished and the water was soiled by the abwässer of the countless schmelzereien. The boy groaned again and moved slightly.

"Easy," Eifion murmured and lay the kid down under a tree. "You probably took one hell of beating."

"I killed them," The boy replied. "I ate the fruit and then I killed them. There was a heat and fury that I couldn't stop. I bit them, pulled it out of their bodies."

Eifion froze. That had been the exact same words the slave had used. He shifted his stance slightly, so he was able to dodge any possible attack, coming from the kid. "What did you pull out? I saw no wounds."

The boy fainted again, before he could answer. Eifion sat down next to him, but kept his sword ready and drawn. Time was on his side this time. The mission he was on didn't need to be rushed. It took the boy several hours before he woke up again. By the time he opened his eyes. Eifion had built a fire next him, in order to keep the kid warm, but also to prepare some dinner. The meat was just right, when the kid woke up again. He looked around himself. Obviously confused about his surroundings.

"Where am I?" He asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Eifion Cely. You are in the forests of Ricken Island right now. What's your name?"

"Anwyn Devi." He replied and first now Eifion realized his mistake. It was no young boy in front of him, but a girl. He handed her the meat.

"What happened on the ship? I found the bodies of the dead slavers and the slaves were absolutely terrified."

"I killed them," She muttered. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes. "I killed them all. Those bastards deserved it, but I can't help but feel this regret. I… didn't want to at first, but Thorn drew steel. He stabbed me and then I bit him." She reached for her side, but Eifion was quicker. He caught her wrists with one hand and gently raised her shirt a bit. A large burn was just above her hip.

"Stabbed?" He asked sceptically. "That looks like a burn."

"Must be because of the fruit. He said it was a devil fruit, worth millions of millions of bellies. I heard stories about them, so I figured if I ate one I could free myself," She replied and pushed his hand away. Eifion didn't bother to reply and instead sat back, watching her closely. She had scars around her ankles. The sort you only get, if you walked around in chains for the most your life. In that moment he made a decision. His mission could wait for a bit. He had multiple months of time. More than enough to gather the info. Meanwhile he could help this kid to at least learn the basics on how to survive in this world. As a former slave she'd most likely get abused by the next village, she'd run into.

"Listen here," He said and handed her a small piece of bread. With trembling fingers she took it and began to eat slowly. "I'm from the revolutionary army. If I could I'd take you with me, but I can't. Right now, I'm on a mission to gather some intel about the world government. If I get caught, it'll mean my immediate execution. However, I've got a lot of time on my hands, so I might as well as help you out. What do you say?"

"Why would you do that?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "I can't give you anything in return."

"I don't want anything in return. I just want to help you out. A lot of revolutionaries were former slaves. They make up a big part of our army."

She still didn't trust him, but as she had no idea what to do else, she decided to agree on his offer. "Thanks… I… I don't know how to repay you."

"As I said you don't have to. Lets eat, then we can make plans for the future." Eifion stated with a grin.

 **End Flashback**

"I had told you that I only had a few months time." Eifion grabbed her hands, trying to pry them off his coat.

"You just walked away. You said, you would go and buy some food and instead you just disappeared," Anwyn yelled and raised her hand, ready to beat him to a pulp. He caught her fist effortlessly and stood up. Anwyn didn't release her grip on the scruff of his neck. Her feet lost contact to the ground as Eifion straightened his back. Their faces were still at the same height.

"Some difficulties appeared. The marines recognized me and I had to run. I couldn't afford to get involved in a fight."

"You're strong. You could've beaten them and returned to me." Her voice was sounding smaller and smaller after her initial anger was gone. Her grip on his collar and dropped down on the ground.

"I might have, but that would have risked the mission. There thousands of people depending on me, Anwyn. I couldn't risk it. Despite I knew, you'd be able to take care of yourself. You had learned Kami-e and the basic usage of your devil fruit." Eifion replied while straightening his clothes.

"You still deserved that kick." Anwyn grumbled sourly. Eifion immediately turned to the side in case she wanted to kick him in the groin a second time. "Are you going to help me?"

"No. There are some people in your group, who wouldn't hesitate in trying to take me down. You are marines after all. You're supposed to protect the world from bad people like me." Eifion grinned and ruffled her hair. This time Anwyn allowed it, though she still itched to kick him. "You have found some powerful friends. They will be able to help you. Just hold out until they arrive."

"Why did you even bother to show up then?"

"I just saved your life. Why can't you at least say thank you?" He said with an exasperated sigh. "You should at least show some kind of gratitude."

"I'm showing it by not kicking you again," She snapped angrily back at him. "I still haven't forgiven you for abandoning me, you know." Her eyes turned towards the entrance as the rocks blocking the entrance started to tremble and shake.

"I'll have to go. Don't trust the apocalyptic riders, nor their captain." He whispered quickly, before vanishing in a cloud of dust. Anwyn stared after him, utterly confused. A particularly large rock was suddenly heaved up into the air and tossed to the side, revealing a very scared looking Omoi.

"Anwyn!" He yelled relieved and reached inside grabbing Anwyn around the upper arm, before yanking her outside, but not before he managed to slam her head into a protruding rock hanging from the ceiling. The impact rendered her unconscious immediately. "I'm so relieved, you're alright." He laughed and stood her down, looking quite surprised when the girl collapsed in a limp heap in front of his feet.

"Are you trying to kill her, you big oaf?" Belos cried kneeling down next to her checking the rapidly growing lump on her forehead.

"It was just a little knock to the head." Omoi replied sheepishly. "It shouldn't have hurt that much. I can't help it that she's so tiny."

Belos stood up, ready to give the man a piece of his mind, but before he could do that Edward turned towards them for second. "Can you two stop bickering like an old couple and help us fight this fuckin confetti man." In the next moment he dodged a hail of papers coming towards him.

"You can't beat me!" Faren screamed with a slightly hysterical pitch in his voice. Burne sent a wave of fire towards him forcing him to dodge towards Edward who slammed his fist into the guts of the pirate captain. Faren coughed up blood and was sent flying back into the rose bushes.

"All these logia-types." Edward muttered with disdain. His fist slowly changing from the colour black to normal.

"I didn't know you were able to use Haki." Omoi quickly changed the subject, leaving an unconscious Anwyn in Belos' care.

"Hey! Don't just walk away on me!" Belos called out, but quickly knelt down next to Anwyn when she groaned and reached for her head. "Stay still. You hit your head."

"What happened?"

"As I said. You hit your head." Belos turned Anwyn's head to the side and checked her ears for any bleeding. "You're lucky. Your skull is still intact, no fracture."

"Check her over once we've dealt with this paper freak," Edward barked while loading his gun. "Usagi! Protect Belos and Anwyn."

Anwyn let out a small growl after that statement. "I can take care of myself."

"Shut up, runt! You're barely conscious. You will keep out of this, that's an order!" Edward retaliated tersely.

In the meantime Burne and Enzo were trying to take out Faren. The Paper Pirates' Captain wasn't making it easy for them though. Papers sharp as razors were swirling around him. Burne tried to use his fire to burn a way through, but a paper hammer smacked him back. "Burne! Enzo! Retreat!" Enzo fired two more bullets against Faren before following the orders. The pirate captain sent some papers after them, but Burne effortlessly turned them into ash. Faren spun around to face Edward head on, but it was already too late. The marine aimed carefully and pulled the trigger.

"Fox Claw!" A single bullet left the barrel and hit Faren right in the chest. At the impact the bullet cracked and released the pressured air, ripping Faren into tiny shreds of paper and tearing up its surroundings as well. Enzo, Omoi and Burne quickly took cover, while Usagi helped Belos to pull Anwyn behind a stonebench. However, Edward knew that wasn't enough. "Burne! Get me some fire!" He yelled and pulled the trigger at the same time. "Flaming Dragon!"

"Demon's Rage!" Burne leaped out of his cover and spat a wall of fire towards his opponents. An agonized scream came from the papers which had started to reform a shape resembling a body. Edward put his gun back into its holster and turned towards his subordinates. A second later Faren dropped to the ground. Smoke still rising from his corpse.

"How did that work? I tried to set him on fire and he simply covered me in papers," Anwyn asked bewildered.

"It worked because he was spread out over a wide area," Usagi explained, but as Anwyn still looked at her with the same confused expression Usagi sighed and knelt down next to her. "It's like a book. If you try to burn it when the pages are pressed together only the outside will get scorched. But if you open it and spread the pages, so that there's air in-between them, the fire will consume them easily."

Anwyn nodded slowly. "I think, I got it."

"Good. If you hadn't understood that explanation, I'd have feared that Omoi had knocked the last tiny bit of sense out of your head." Belos muttered.

Anwyn glared daggers at the doctor. "Hey! I still realize when I'm being insulted."

"Keep still! I'm trying to put a bandage around your head. Then I'm going to check on your other wounds."

"I'm fine." She tried swatting his hands away, but suddenly found them locked in a vicelike grip from Belos. He stared straight into her eyes, adjusting his glasses with his free hand.

"You have a concussion, multiple non penetrating traumas. You were also stabbed. Right below your thoracic diaphragm to be precisely. If it was injured it might lead to a pneumothorax. Furthermore I can't guarantee that you might not get a case of Congenital diaphragmatic hernia, as your thoracic diaphragm might not be as tough as it used to be, before you devil fruit melted it back together." Belos stated coldly. "Also a concussion might lead to a intracranial haemorrhage. So you'll keep still, until I tell you otherwise!"

Anwyn managed to utter a frightened squeak and nodded her head, before she quickly lay down on the ground and let Belos do his work.

"Did you even understand what he just said?" Usagi asked with an amused grin.

"Well… it sounded quite scary, but I don't know the words."

"Pneumothorax means that your lung collapses, because air would enter the space between your ribcage and your lung itself. Basically you'd suffocate yourself with every breath you'd take a bit more. The chance for a congenital diaphragmatic hernia is minimal in my opinion. It means the organs, which are all stuffed inside the space below your lung would squash them and you'd suffocate. Intracranial haemorrhage means that you'd get an internal bleeding inside your brain and you'd basically end up as a vegetable." Edward explained calmly.

"That explanation did not help to calm me down." Anwyn snapped.

Edward simply shrugged and grinned. "It wasn't supposed to. You asked what those big words meant and I explained it."

Belos tapped Anwyn against her forehead in order to get her attention back and indicated her to sit up, so he could check on the wound in her side. "How come you know all these things?" Belos asked while applying a disinfectant on her burn.

"I had plenty of experiences with dealing and receiving wounds." With those words he turned away from Anwyn and looked over the former rose garden. Most of the bushes were burnt and scorched and the rest had been damaged otherwise. It had been a hard fight, but once Faren had realized that all his subordinates had been beaten, his will had crumbled. Enzo was sitting on the ruined stairs of the small chapel and reloading his pistols. "As soon as you've patched up everyone we'll head back to our ship."

"What should we do with Faren's ship?" Usagi asked.

"We'll sink it." Burne replied. "Captain, shall we put him and his men on the ship as well before we do it?"

Edward shook his head. "No, they'll get picked off by the navy sure enough. They aren't worthy enough to be part of Rainard's fleet anymore." All of the crew gave him a quick bewildered glance after that statement. Not worthy? They were only pretending to be pirates. It wasn't necessary to start with their play just yet. Edward ignored them and called over to Enzo, who had just finished reloading his guns. "Are you with us now?"

"Yes," he simply replied and tucked his weapons back into the holster.

Slow clapping broke the silence and everyone except Edward ducked as if they expected an attack. Suddenly there was a burst of blood red light and a man appeared in their midst. He was still clapping his hands slowly. "An impressive show. I truly appreciated it." He said with a broad smile exposing sharp fangs, before stopping his applause and grabbing the trident he had leant on his shoulders. Edward pushed back his Stetson and turned towards the newcomer with his usual cocky grin.

"I wondered when you'd show up. Warlord Alexander The Devil Constantine!" Edward tapped his hat slightly and performed a slight mocking bow. Burne immediately went into a defensive position, moving slowly over to Anwyn, Usagi and Belos, so he'd be able to cover them if needed. Omoi leaned on his sword and watched the warlord with interest. Now he was wishing more than ever for his gourd and shield. He really should make it a habit to take them with him wherever he went. Anwyn had grown as pale as a sheet. Belos put a hand on her shoulder, in order to calm her down, but he could feel the blood pump through her veins. She was absolutely terrified. Usagi's expression had gone blank, but her fingers gripped her war fans tightly.

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "When did you notice me?" He asked with sincere curiosity. "I thought I had hidden myself from your view."

"Just had a feeling, that someone was watching us. It started when we fought them and it didn't stop once we took them all out, so I thought there had to be another one."

Alexander nodded slowly and lets his gaze wander over the tattered remains of Edward's crew. The warlord's eyes were an eerie red. His face didn't show any emotions, but then he turned around and pointed towards the small desolated town from where they had come. "Some of my men are down there. I'll bring you to Rainard. I assume that was the reason you attacked his crew."

"You assume right." Edward replied. "I heard Rainard appreciates strength and how could we prove it better than with finishing off one of his crews?"

Alexander smiled at that statement. "You seem to know what Rainard likes. The last crew, who tried to join him without any proof of their strength, was slaughtered on the spot."

Edward shrugged. "I keep myself well informed."

"A wise choice. Follow me! I'll lead you back to the ships. If I don't accompany you, there might a chance that one of my lieutenants will attack you." He shouldered his trident and went ahead. With a quick gesture Edward beckoned Omoi to pick up Anwyn. The swordsman quickly obeyed the order, before joining up in the middle of the small group of his crewmembers.

"That's a warlord." Anwyn hissed at him. "A bloody warlord. I'm going to die. I'm going to get killed during this mission. Why's he here? Why does he lead us to Rainard?"

Omoi pressed her to his chest, squeezing the air out of her for a second. "Shut up!" He growled under his breath. "We're close to succeeding! Don't show any weakness now! It might cost us our life."

Anwyn sucked in a lungful of air and glanced up at him. There was no way denying it. She was absolutely terrified. The stories of Alexander and his crew had reached her ears multiple times over the past few months. He had been newly appointed after the death of Gecko Moria in the Battle of Marineford. Fear had clutched her heart with icy fingers and refused to let go. Rainard was one thing. He was a madman from what she had heard. An insanely strong madman, but still a madman. He might be outwitted by Edward and Fujitora, but Alexander… He was a different story. She looked over to her crewmembers.

They were looking tense, but still had their emotions in check. Anwyn gulped and tapped Omoi against the chest. "Put me down. I'll walk myself. Edward's right. I can't quiver in fear." The huge marine nodded and gently stood her down on her feet. Anwyn's knees were already shaking from exhaustion, but with a bit of help from Usagi she managed to keep up. Two ships in the size of the Red Dread had docked next to it. Both of their figureheads were quite similar. One was a crucified white devil holding a silvery sword in one hand. The other was a crucified black devil holding a bomb in each hand.

"Don Juan will lead you to Rainard. I will continue my journey with Karasu. I'm quite sure you will enjoy my second mate's hospitality far more than my third mates. You should be grateful he hasn't dropped any explosives on you yet."

"Oh we sincerely are." Edward replied in a mocking tone, before adding. "I suppose someone will clean up after us? I highly doubt you want the marines to capture them. They might have some information about Rainard's whereabouts after all."

"It will be taken care off. Don't worry. I have my own plans with the paper pirates." Alexander stated with a grin, once again exposing his eerily sharp teeth.

"Good." Edward replied and turned towards his crew. "Alright guys. Ready the ship, we'll head off with Don Juan in one hour. It's time we pay Rainard a visit."

* * *

 **I'm very sorry for taking so long to update.**

 **I was in holiday for four weeks and didn't have any internet access at all. Furthermore I failed a test from university which I had to retake. So in the last three weeks I've been busy studying and preparing for the new semester. Also, I wanted to get back into the story, so I could keep on with a certain flow in the story telling.**

 **I've also been looking for a beta-reader, but so far I haven't found one, but I think with some help this story could improve much more, be it about grammatical mistakes or sentence structure.**

 **As always feel free to give me some feedback. I'd love to hear some good constructive criticism and don't hesitate to point out mistakes.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	11. Sigrun Redaxe

**Sigrun Redaxe**

Their walk through the ruined town was quiet. Alexander apparently had no interest in keeping a conversation going. The marines themselves were too tired to talk amongst each other, except Burne who was fighting to keep his temper in check. He had liked to take a swing at the warlord, but Edward was wise enough to walk in front of him, to hinder him from doing anything stupid.

Anwyn missed it completely. She was busy enough with staying on her feet. Enzo caught up to her and put one arm around her, to keep her steady. "God dammit!" Anwyn hissed. "I feel bloody useless!"

"Don't! You took out one of the Burton siblings." Usagi tried to cheer her up.

Anwyn scoffed "After he took a bullet to the chest, yes."

"Don't pull yourself down like that. You saved my life and hurt Reed pretty badly with your hellhound."

"Quiet back there!" Edward ordered. "We've got a welcoming committee!"

"My two lieutenants…"

"Don Juan de la Mancha, known as The golden Sword and Karasu, The Bird of Death! Later has eaten the Crow-Crow-Fruit!" Edward interrupted him.

"The one back there is close to dying. Why did you stop me from blowing them up? They're a bunch of weaklings." Karasu stated watching Anwyn with his golden eyes like a hawk a wounded and cornered rabbit. Karasu was a skinny person, but tall, with a mop of wild black hair on the top of his head. "One single bomb would blow the boy into bits. How about this? I blow him up and leave the rest of them alone. Boss?" He asked eagerly already reaching for a bomb attached to his belt.

"No!" Alexander replied sternly, causing Karasu's shoulders to sag down.

"But that's no fun. I haven't gotten to blow up anyone in the past two days."

"You blew up a fisherman this morning." Juan reminded him. He was slightly shorter than Karasu, but built like an Adonis. Long blonde hair, which almost reached his waist, framed a ravishingly beautiful face. Two blue eyes were firmly locked on Usagi. As if nature itself wanted to help the pirate to show off, a gust of wind blew back his unbuttoned blue dress shirt, exposing his muscled body.

Karasu eyed his crewmember with disgust. "That doesn't count. I could only drop one bomb on him and then the fun was over. He didn't even try to evade it. You just don't want to see that woman being sad." He pointed accusingly at Usagi. "I might just blow her up as well."

In an instant Juan had drawn his weapon. A slender, sharply pointed rapier. At the same time Enzo pulled out a gun and aimed it at Karasu's face. "Don't you dare to threaten a woman in my presence!" They both shouted, then threw each other a quick glance. Karasu on the other hand, just laughed and slapped Juan's blade away with his bare hand.

"The boss said, I can't, so I won't." He shrugged it off, then added nonchalantly. "But if you'll ever threaten me again Enzo, I will murder you."

"I'd like to see you try!" The newly recruited marine growled.

"Alright. Enough of the niceties." Edward interrupted before the situation could escalate. "We're here to get to Rainard, no to pick a fight with you."

"My words exactly. Karasu! Send your men to collect the Paper Pirates and bring them on your ship!"

"Can I blow them up later?"

"You can blow up one!"

"YES!" Karasu pumped his fist then turned towards his ship and started shouting orders. Immediately two dozen men jumped into the small vessels tied to the side of the ship and started rowing towards the island.

"Even though this flowers is but a scant tribute to your beauty, I beg you, accept my humble gift." Juan had approached Usagi while everyone else had been watching Karasu's crew. He took her hand, taking a flawless bow, while kissing the back of her hand and handing her a delicate lily. Usagi blushed a deep red and uttered something that seemed similar to a hoarse croaking. Apparently she had no experiences whatsoever in such situations and lacked any social skills to overcome her disconcertedness.

Enzo on the other hand was seething and already reaching for another one of his guns. Anwyn however butted in, showing that she lacked at least as much social grace as Usagi. "Bugger off! She doesn't want to talk to you."

Juan just glanced her way, obviously intending to give a snide remark, but he hesitated for a second. His eyes moved up and down her form, before they widened a fraction, showing his surprise. "An unexpected ruby appears in front of my eyes. Accept my deepest apologies, my dear leady. I was lacking the skill the see your true beauty, it's the one of an uncut gem with two bright emeralds for eyes. Why do such lovely maidens travel with such a band of uncivilised ruffians?"

Anwyn was too stunned by that sudden change of attitude towards her, that she for once kept her big mouth shut.

"You better stop that eloquent language, before I put a bullet between your eyes. They belong to our crew and have no intention to listen to your swooning." Enzo seethed, aiming a gun directly towards Juan's forehead.

"I haven't heard one of them to protest." Juan countered with a winning smile, ignoring the weapon.

"Juan. You will have almost a month time for talking with those women. As you will lead them to Rainard." Alexander interrupted them curtly.

"Alright. Get your men ready Edward Mercury. We're setting sail." Juan turned away from the women and headed down to the coast.

"What the hell is wrong with that guy?" Anwyn asked, slightly flustered. She had never been addressed in such a manner before.

"He's a womanizer." Enzo replied with disgust.

"I've never been called a ruby or emerald before. What is that anyway?"

"It's a type of rock." Edward explained nonchalantly and continued immediately, before anyone could reply. "Now get on the ship. You can discuss and compare your flatteries later."

"Why would he compare me with a rock?" Anwyn asked Usagi. The young ensign was still clutching the flower Juan had handed her.

"It's flattery." She explained still embarrassed over the attention she had just received. Quickly she handed the flower over to Anwyn. "You keep it." Then she walked briskly over to their boat.

Anwyn just stood there dumbfounded. "What am I supposed to do with this?" None of her crewmembers seemed too interested in her flower though. Her train of thoughts was interrupted when a few crewmembers from Karasu carried the bodies from a paper-pirate past them.

"I don't like either of them." Burne muttered under his breath.

"That's no surprise. If you could, you would've beaten them down the second you laid your eyes on them, but we have no time for such nonsense. We want to get to Rainard. Now get going!"

Half an hour later they were finally setting sail. Juan's ship led the way. Belos was busy tending to the wounds of his comrades. Usagi's wound needed stitches, but it wasn't as deep as they had feared. Fixing up Edward took the longest. With a pair of pinchers Belos had to pluck out dozens of small shrapnel out of his captain's back. Omoi was standing at the helm, with his gourd beside him. His wounds were already looked after, so he was in charge of the ship for the moment.

"Anwyn!" The girls head turned towards Edward, who was still lying on a camp bed on deck. "Enzo told me how you were able to land a blow on Faren. He had eaten a logia-fruit. How did you do it? I suppose you don't have any Haki."

"Nope. What's Haki anyway?"

"It's a dormant power which every person has. Most can't awaken it though. There are three types of Haki: Kenbunshoku Haki, which grants you like sixth sense of the world around you. Busoshoku Haki, which allows you to use your spirit like an armour for defence or offense. The last one is called Haoshoku Haki, but it's so rare very unlikely to meet a person who's got it. With Busoshoku Haki you can strike logia-users down." Belos explained calmly while pulling another shrapnel out of Edward's back.

"Oh… okay. No, it's not something like that. I call the technique "Soul Impact". It attacks your insides and not your outsides. It's something similar I did to those slavers, you know. As I attack your spirit and not your body, logia and rokushiki users can't defend themselves. That's the attack I wanted to use on Captain Caym, right before Fujitora intercepted us."

"Interesting. I haven't heard about that ability yet. How about you try to punch me, when Belos is done."

Belos frown and grabbed the next shrapnel with a pair of tweezers. "You shouldn't take any more hits today. I've just patched you up."

"You're a good doctor. You're stitches will hold. GOD DAMMIT!" He yelled as Belos ripped out another piece of shrapnel of his back. "Couldn't have been a bit more gentle, could you?" He asked sourly, as Belos dabbed the wound with some disinfectant.

"No. If my patient intends to fight the moment I'm done, I have no urge to be, what you called it, gentle." Belos snapped and started to wrap some bandage around Edward's torso.

"Alright, alright. I got it. We're taking it easy." Edward quickly said, trying to calm down the irritated doctor. "We will be fine, I promise." He beckoned Anwyn towards him. She seemed quite reluctant, but obeyed. Now just punch me in the stomach, without using that technique. That way I can compare it better."

Anwyn shrugged and made a fist, before punching him straight into the stomach. Edward used Tekkai right before her fist connected with him. Anwyn hissed and jumped back, cradling her knuckles with one hand. "Couldn't you have warned me? That felt like punching a wall of bricks."

"Thanks for the admiration, but now get on with it." Edward smirked, earning himself a scowl.

"Soul impact!" This time she punched him far harder. Despite the iron-body technique he doubled over gasping for air.

"Cheeky runt!" Edward coughed. "That actually hurt."

"Good!" She grinned. "Then we're even."

 **Two weeks later**

Anwyn was sitting lazily sprawled out in the crow's nest. Her muscles were aching from the thorough training Edward had put her through. She was too tired to even lift a finger. Scouting duty was therefore the perfect job for her. Suddenly a head popped up next to her and in the next second Usagi pulled herself up into the crow's nest as well.

"Enzo has made some sandwiches." She stated and handed Anwyn one of the two she was carrying with her. Usagi settled down next to her friend and nudged her with the shoulder. "How are your wounds?"

"Almost good. The stab in the side still stings occasionally." She added. "How's your cut?"

"He just pulled out the strings today." She made a face and moved her shoulder up and down, to show that she was getting her ability to move back. "Anwyn…" She stopped for a second, hesitant to continue, but the curiosity got the better of her. "How long were you a slave?"

Anwyn tensed up, but relaxed again. "I suppose it's time I should talk about it. I was a slave for about seven or eight years, maybe more. I didn't bother counting."

"How bad was it?"

"To be honest… not that bad at all. The worst was, when my father was gunned down by that world noble and they came to take me and my mother. We were separated in the auction house." Anwyn turned her head away, so that she was looking out on the ocean. It felt easier that way. "I was sold to a noble who had me working in the fields. I was to bundle up the wheat. I did that for about a year, before I was sold off to some kind of building company. I worked on a bridge for the rest of the time. But as a working slave you always get enough food to survive. It's still tough though. You're always hungry, as the food you get is just enough to keep you working. They have made some experiments you know. Too well fed slaves tend do try to rebel more against their masters. If you're always hungry, you don't have the strength to do so. It's a fine balance they've found. You just have enough strength to do your work and that's it. The work made me strong. I even found some friends there on the bridge.  
Then I was sold off again. I got the devil fruit and killed the slavers. Now I'm here." She concluded her tale with small shrug. "Being a slave isn't too bad if you don't serve under the world nobles. Especially if they need you as a working person."

"I'm sorry. When I think, that I haven't known anything about this before. My parents made some remarks, that the world nobles still had slaves, but still… I had no idea it was to such an extent."

"Don't be sorry. Captain Fujitora has gotten me out of this mess. What more can I wish for? Well except for having to face Rainard the Mad."

"He doesn't want you to fight. You know that. He knows you're no match for him." Usagi said gently. "Stay back. You might get away with your life. All we have to do is to lure him into a trap. Fujitora will seek a battle on the open sea."

Anwyn simply nodded. She was scared and all the others knew it. The closer they got to Rainard's hideout the more all her instincts told her to run.

"A ship!" Usagi suddenly called out. She picked up the telescope to get a better look at it. "It's one of Rainard's underlings. "There are two flags. A grey one with a split skull. That belongs to Soren the Grey Swordsman. Then there's Rainard's. A white skull pierced by a greatsword. Soren has joined him as well then." Anwyn scooted next to her trying to get a good look, but the ship was too far away. She could only make out small forms rushing back and forth on the ship. "Sigrun Redaxe is with him." She hissed and lowered the telescope.

"Isn't that the man from the town, which we just visited? The sole survivor?"

Usagi nodded. "He's got a bounty of 67 Millions. One of the lowest ranks from Rainard's crew. He seems to have been sent away on some sort of mission."

"I'll go down to tell the others." Before Usagi could respond Anwyn had jumped on to the rope ladder. "Guys! There's a ship north-north-west from us."

Edward raised his head just enough so he could peer at her from under the brim of his Stetson. "Who is it?"

"Soren the grey Swordsman and Sigrun Redaxe is with him. One from Rainard's crew."

"Alright." Edward pulled the Stetson back over his eyes and leant back again. Obviously intending to go back to sleep.

"What are your orders, Captain? What are we to do?" Anwyn pestered. What the hell was he doing? They were just about to meet one of Rainard's crew and all he thought of was his afternoon-nap.

"Nothing. He's our ally. Also Don Juan would never allow that anything happens to his precious little ruby." He added grinning.

Anwyn flushed in anger. "Stop comparing me to a bloody rock!"

"See I knew you still got some of that spunk in you. Now calm down. They won't attack us, and even if they do, we'll beat them down. Simple as that."

"Anwyn! I've prepared one of your favourite snacks." Enzo waltzed out of the kitchen balancing a tray with a huge T-bone steak on it.

"Ah your second admirer." Edward quipped sarcastically, but was ignored.

"Medium rare." Enzo announced and went to hand Anwyn the tray with a slight bow. Anwyn's eyes lit up and just as she was about to grab it, as Belos stepped in between them.

"Drink a glass of this first." He handed her a bottle filled with a chocolate-brown liquid. "It's one of my special mixes and it'll help you gain some weight."

"Back in the marine base you said, that I'm only supposed to take a spoonful." She replied eyeing the bottle sceptically.

"This one's weaker. I don't want you to down a whole month's worth of my ingredients again."

Anwyn grinned and plucked the bottle out of his hand, before taking a few gulps. Finally Belos stepped out of her way and she was able to grab the steak. She sunk her teeth in it and relished in the taste. Enzo had used some of his special spicy sauces. Just enough to make her tongue burn slightly.

"Hey, why aren't we getting anything?" Omoi complained.

"You're already big enough." Enzo retorted. That comment earned him an angry glare from the helmsman.

"Get off your lazy asses and prepare for battle!" Usagi shouted from the crow's nest. "Soren is heading right for us and his men are loading the canons!"

"Shit, I was just getting comfortable." Edward slowly got back up on his feet and let out a tremendous yawn. "We're on the defence. No attacks. We don't want to sink their ship."

"Why not?" Burne grumbled. "They're the ones picking the fight."

Edward sighed dramatically. "Because that might anger our ally and we don't want that. We wanted just to stir enough trouble that we catch Rainard's attention. Not enough to make him actually go after us." Speaking in a tone as if Burne was an especially dense child. Usually a tone he used when talking with Anwyn, when she was asking him questions that kept him from getting any sleep. If looks could kill Edward would have dropped dead in that very second. "See," Edward continued and gestured, towards Don Juan's ship. Their rudder had turned and they were sailing in-between them and Soren's ship, forcing Soren to turn starboard hard. "I told you so."

"You're becoming a real wiseass, captain." Anwyn snapped, while gnawing on the bone from her steak. Her teeth grew sharper and with a sharp cracking sound the bone snapped. There were some crunching sounds, as her teeth rendered the bone to a mushy mess, before she swallowed it. "What?" She asked, when she got some astonished looks from the rest of her crew. "I like it. You can cook soup out of it as well, you know."

"Can it be, that your devil fruit has changed your appetite as well?" Usagi asked. The young ensign eyed her crewmember curiously.

Anwyn shrugged and bared her sharp teeth. "Might be."

"Don Juan is signalling us to get up and alongside his ship. Soren will come up to him as well." Omoi called down to them. "He has arranged a meeting and… oh crap…" Omoi visibly paled then started to grin. "GUYS! Soren and his crew are just the scouting party. Rainard's fleet is heading this way."

"WHAT!" Usagi, Belos and Anwyn yelled.

It was followed by a low chuckle from Edward. "Our task seems to be getting easier than we expected."

"How the hell is this easier?" Anwyn whined in defeat, but she was ignored by her captain.

"Pull up alongside Don Juan, Omoi. Let's meet this Rainard."

Fear had clutched its icy claws right into Anwyn's heart, once she realized that she was going to have to face Rainard far sooner than expected. She clenched her teeth hard in order to stop them from rattling, but when she finally managed to keep them from clattering her knees were shaking.

"Hey. You think you're up for this?" Belos asked concerned.

"Yes! Yes, I am." She ground out. "I have to!"

"You could…"

"No, she can't! Rainard respects strength and strength only. If one of our crewmates stays on the ship he could interpret it in several different ways, all of which would have a bad outcome for us." Edward replied coldly.

"You knew what you're up to, pull yourself together recruit!" Burne commanded.

Anwyn took a shaky breath and gripped the handles of her knives tighter. It helped. The cold hard steel calmed her nerves. Her heart was still beating like crazy, but she slowly but surely got herself back under control.

Omoi steered the Red Dread up along Don Juan's ship. A few men were already standing ready and threw several grappling hooks over to them to tie the ships together. "Let's go." Edward jumped over the railing onto Don Juan's ship. The second lieutenant from Alexander's crew greeted them in person, or rather he greeted Usagi and Anwyn in particular. Enzo stared daggers at the man, but Omoi kept him from doing anything rash. Burne himself cracked his knuckles while eyeing the other two persons who were walking up to them.

One of the men was clad in a plain grey kimono. An equally grey belt held the black scabbard of a beautifully forged katana. His eyes seemed void of any emotions as he looked the intruders up and down. He looked slightly longer at Enzo and Edward. Enzo because he was widely known for his high bounty and Edward because he obviously was the captain of the group, as he was standing in front.

Anwyn taxed the swordsman herself in the meantime. His black hair was slicked back and gathered in a small knot at the back of his head. A slight stubble was growing on the man's chin. His impressive crooked nose caught the most of her attention though. When Soren noticed her staring, she quickly let her gaze wander over to the second man.

He was young and had a rugged look. His pants were tattered and over his shoulders he was wearing a coat made out of some reddish-brown fur. A broad brown belt had been slung around his hips. Two axes were dangling from their holsters. The bearded blades looked sharp as a razor plus they had some odd snail like conches on the back. That had to be Sigrun Redaxe. His gaze was locked on her throat and his left hand closed around one of his axes. She could feel how he imagined chopping her head right off. Anwyn gulped, but challenged his look with one of her own, while gripping both of her knives.

Sigrun grinned and let his gaze wander over to Enzo, who had taken a step closer to Anwyn and Usagi. "Why did you stop us, Don Juan? They are too weak. They wouldn't even last a minute."

"Those weaklings took down Faren and his crew." Don Juan replied coldly. It was obvious that he disliked young Sigrun.

Sigrun showed momentary surprise, but immediately gained his cool again. "These guys? Did they poison them?"

"No, we kicked their asses in a fair fight." Anwyn answered and stepped forward. "We're here to join Rainard. We've proven our strength."

"Your crewmembers maybe. But you haven't. Your bounty has barely risen since three years. You haven't accomplished anything. You will need a lot more, than one beaten crewmember to prove your strength."

"She injured Faren. That should be proof enough." Don Juan stated. "It's more than you ever accomplished. And if you continue to insult this woman's honour, I will take it upon myself to teach you some manners."

Sigrun scoffed and put his hands on his axes. "I'd be glad to test my strength against yours."

"Stop this nonsense." The voice which spoke this words was raspy and as dry as sandpaper. Soren still hadn't moved a muscle since he had walked up to them. "They're potential allies. Don't be too rash to pass on judgement. The heavens will show us our destination soon enough."

"He's right. How long will it take Rainard to catch up to you?" Edward replied and turned towards Soren, ignoring Sigrun. An action that obviously further agitated the young pirate.

"Three hours." Soren rasped, before turning away. "Prepare yourself until then! You will need to make an impression on him, or blood will be spilled today."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Studies have really taken up a lot of time recently and surprisingly enough I have quit procrastinating. So I actually spent my time studying instead of writing.**

 **I'm not planning on abandoning this story, if some of you fear that. I have everything the whole storyline penned out. I just need to write it out in chapters. A bunch of words with indicators showing in what order all the action will happen won't do you any good, and won't be particularly interesting either.**

 **Also I'm still in search for a beta-reader. So if you spot any mistakes feel free to point them out, constructive criticism is also much welcomed.**


	12. Anwyn vs Sigrun

The two hours passed way too quick for Anwyn's liking. Usagi seemed equally nervous, while Belos had started to work with his herbs. Maybe he too was fretting, but Anwyn highly doubted it. The doctor was carefully measuring out a dose of dried leaves, which he then crushed into a fine powder in a mortar. Next he added a small piece of something that looked like a root. He looked like concentration incarnate. Anwyn soon got bored watching Belos work on his medicines and directed her attention at her other crewmembers. Omoi and Burne were sharing a drink, while Edward was sound asleep and snoring.

With a small tablet balanced on his hand Enzo walked up to Usagi and offered her some tea. He turned to Anwyn, but she immediately shook her head. He shrugged and headed back to the kitchen to prepare something else.

"How are you doing little ruby?" Someone said suddenly behind her. Anwyn spun around and found herself facing Juan the Golden Sword.

"What do you want?" She questioned with a voice, which clearly stated, that she would prefer if he just sodded off.

"To hand you a rose. A fitting colour for your red mane." He held out the delicate flower with two slender fingers and gave her a dazzling smile. His beauty angered her. She didn't know why, but she felt inferior. "Will you allow me…?" He asked and went to tuck the rose behind her ear. That did it! Anwyn activated her devil fruit. In the last moment she remembered that she was indeed sitting on a wooden ship, so instead of calling her fire, she grew fangs and snapped after his fingers. Her teeth caught nothing but thin air and she could feel the rose being safely tucked away behind her ear.

Juan laughed at her feeble attempt off stopping him. Anwyn's first impulse was to jerk the rose away and burn it to a crisp, but she had a feeling, that such an action would only further amuse Juan, so she left the flower in its place. Instead she let out a frustrated huff and blew away a strand of hair, which had fallen over her eye.

"It suits you." Juan winked at her, then suddenly grew serious. "Sigrun was right, you know."

"With what?"

"With the fight. I mean no offense. I don't view you as weak, but Rainard will only see the numbers of your bounty and a half-grown kid. Fact remains your bounty hasn't risen since recently and you've been wanted for a long time. To top it off your bounty is only 10 Million bellies. That'll maybe be enough to spend a night drinking with the crew."

"Shut it!" She growled and gripped her knives. He was just keeping on mocking her.

"Try it, little ruby." Juan simply raised an eyebrow on her. "You wouldn't be able to cut me in a million years." Within a blink of an eye Anwyn had her knife at his throat. Juan laughed as the blade stopped just barely in time before cutting into his skin. "See. You're curious. You don't know what to make of the situation so you attack, trying to impress me. It won't help. So cut out the tough act." He grinned. His index finger moved up and pressed the blade away from his throat. "You truly are an uncut little ruby."

Anger flashed in Anwyn's eyes, but she sheathed her knife again. "Don't compare me to a rock." She grumbled sullenly.

"Alright, but you're still uncut, in more than one way. Now listen. I didn't come here, to get threatened by you. I want to warn you. Rainard will have you fight against one of the two men you just met here today. If it is Sigrun you have a slim chance of winning. His weapons of choice are his two axes. The flat conches on the back of his weapons are impact dials, so you'll have to watch out for his backswings. He's easily riled, so provoke him to do something rash. That's your only chance for victory." He explained in a hushed voice. Surprised Anwyn kept quiet and listened. Why was he helping her? He had nothing to gain from it.

"What if I have to fight Soren?"

"Pray and hope Rainard will be satisfied once you're severely injured." With those words he stood back up and stretched his back.

"Why are you helping me?" Anwyn asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her.

Juan grinned revealing two lines of perfectly shaped, white teeth. "I'm still hoping to take you out for dinner."

Anwyn grinned then flipped him off. "In your dreams. Despite, I'm probably half your age."

"I'm even a bit older than that, but I'm flattered, that you consider me being this young."

"And I'm grossed out, that you're hitting on me." She muttered. Juan simply laughed. "I…" Anwyn's voice faltered. "Thanks for the warning, about the fight I mean."

Juan winked at her. "Nothing more I can do though."

"It's enough." She replied. Her face froze, when she spotted Enzo walking up to them with a dark look on his face.

"Leave her alone, Juan."

"She never uttered a single protest, Enzo. In my opinion she's perfectly capable of choosing her company herself and she might be realising that she picked the wrong one, when she's been around you for a while." Juan's hand rested lightly atop of his rapier.

Enzo was holding a tablet, but his whole stance expressed aggression.

"Stop fighting." Anwyn interrupted them, before either of them could act rashly. "Rainard will be here soon enough, and he's unpredictable. So save your strength Enzo."

"Wise words, from a beautiful young lady." Juan bowed towards her, then turned towards Enzo. "You should listen to your crewmates Enzo. Not all things can be solved by barging in somewhere with guns blazing."

Enzo's knuckles whitened as his grip tightened around the tablet. Juan strolled away not bothering to look back.

"You shouldn't talk to him. Out of Alexander's crew he's the most charismatic, but don't forget his other crewmates. They're more or less lunatics. Karasu has a habit of blowing up innocent people, while Enricco tears is opponents completely apart."

"Who's Enricco?" Anwyn asked curiously.

"Alexander's first lieutenant. He's supposed to be even stronger than Don Juan."

The girl gulped uncomfortably at that information. How many powerful guys would keep to show up on this mission? She just wanted to get this over with, so she could get back to her normal life. "Juan seems nice enough though. He's never done anything to harm me."

"Remember who his captain is. Alexander is a schemer. He wouldn't have connections with Rainard if he couldn't gain anything out of it." Enzo replied and put the tablet down in front of her. On it was a beautifully arranged curry dish. The rice was shaped like a small volcano, while the curry and chicken stood for the lava. Anwyn inhaled deeply and felt how her stomach started gurgling despite that she had eaten only half an hour ago. Whatever medicine Belos had given her it made her body absorb all nutrients much faster. She took a small bite and relished in the taste. The curry tasted almost sweet in the beginning, before the chili flavour took over. She closed her eyes and leaned back. Whatever Enzo had done in his past, he sure had learnt cooking. Anwyn looked down on herself after she had taken another fork. With Belos' and Enzo's help she had gained some weight. She still looked thin, but not half starved anymore.

* * *

Burne's fists were itching. There were dozens of pirates within his reach and he couldn't do anything. His blood was boiling from the stories he had heard. Close to him a crewmember from Sigrun's Red-Axe-Pirates was boasting with a story on how their captain had chopped the heads from 30 marine's in a single battle. His knuckles cracked loudly when he unconsciously clenched his fists. With a deep breath he calmed himself down enough to unclench his hands again. Captain Fujitora had picked him for a reason. He wouldn't betray that trust.

He turned away from the pirates and headed over to Omoi. The large man was sitting on the stern drinking from his oversized gourd. "I don't like this, Omoi." He muttered and sat down next to the helmsman. Instead of a reply Omoi filled a large tankard with rice wine and handed it to the marine.

"It will be alright and if it doesn't we will give them a fight to remember. We'll show them our warrior's pride."

Burne nodded. That was a good statement. If they would get into a fight, he would bring as many of these pirates to justice as possible, before going down. He took a great gulp from the tankard and felt the alcohol spread a warm feeling inside his guts. "I wish we could take a more straight path."

"Then you shouldn't have volunteered for this. We knew from the very beginning what it involved." Omoi interrupted him.

"I know." Burne cracked his knuckles. "What we wish for and what is are far too often two different things. But I don't like involving children." He glanced over to Anwyn, who was still munching away on the curry that Enzo had brought her. Omoi followed his gaze and shrugged his shoulders.

"It was her own decision. I think highly of her for coming with us. She shows great bravery despite her young age. Same goes for Usagi."

"I know. She was the one who helped me get off that bloody island after I got ambushed."

"And we also have her to thank that Enzo is with us now." Omoi added.

"I don't know if I can be particularly grateful for that." Burne growled and fixed the cook with an icy glare. "No murderer will ever be a comrade of mine. It would not be just to make any exceptions. Not for such crimes."

"Rainard is coming!" A voice suddenly called out. Both of the marines looked up and spotted the sail from Rainard's ship on the horizon. The flag with the white skull pierced by greatsword flew high on the mast's ship, clearly indicating on which ship Rainard himself was. Burne glanced over to Anwyn. The young woman appeared relaxed, but he knew her well enough to know that she was nervous. Stern, if he was honest his heart was beating faster as well. I his case it was battle fervour though. He was eager to take these pirates down. His eyes wandered back to Rainard' ship and he eyed it carefully. The ship had been painted in the colours of dried bones. The figurehead resembled vaguely a human body, but bonelike spikes seemed to be growing out of it everywhere. The face seemed to be twisted in agony, while the hands were gripping a large spike coming out of its chest. To the left side of the figurehead stood a tall man. His hair was short and white as snow. His skin was so pale it was almost white. The handle of greatsword could be seen sticking up behind the right side of his head. The left side of his face was a mess of scars. His eye seemed to be still intact, though it looked like he held it half closed all the time.

The ship was approaching them quickly. Burne got back up on his feet emptying his tankard with sake in the process. "Lets wake the captain. He shouldn't be asleep when Rainard boards the ship."

Omoi nodded and put the cork back into his gourd. "I'll go and fetch the rest."

Edward was awoken by one of Burne's boots, while the rest of the crew gathered around him. "Is he already here?"

"Yes." Belos replied, just as they heard the thud of Rainard's boat bumping ever so slightly into Soren's ship.

Anwyn glanced over to the ship, but she couldn't see anything new. Juan had walked up to the arriving vessel and was now waiting for Rainard to disembark. "Alright. Now it gets dangerous." Edward let out a humungous yawn and stretched himself. He looked like he was just about to go out on an afternoon stroll and not have a faceoff with one of the deadliest pirates of the east blue. Anwyn envied him off his calm and self-assured composure. There was a soft thump when Rainard jumped down from his ship onto Soren's vessel. From up close he didn't look that tall. He was of average height, but the muscles rippled beneath his skin with every movement he made. He was wearing tattered white pants. A grey coat lined with white fur covered his shoulders. His eyes were pale blue and completely without emotion. His feet were bare and he made no sound when he walked towards them. When his eyes fell on Enzo, they shone up for a second, as if he was happy to see the man. "Enzo!" He called out with a wide grin. "You must be the captain of this mess you call crew. Have you decided to join me?"

The cook seemed surprised that the pirate knew who he was. "No, I'm not the captain." He replied and jerked his head towards Edward who had just finished rubbing his eyes.

Rainard seemed less than pleased about this bit of information. "I see." He eyed Edward up and down, before taking half a step back. In the next second he vanished. He reappeared right before Edward and tried to strike him with the flat of his hand. Edward Mercury didn't lose his cool. He blocked the blow with his forearm. The skin of the flat of Rainard's hand rippled and Mercury pushed the hand away from him. Suddenly a half meter long bone burst out from Rainard's palm. He quickly retracted it and followed up by drawing his flamebladed greatsword swinging it towards Edward. The marine blocked the attack, before Rainard could build up any momentum, by landing a kick on Rainard's wrist, stopping the upward swing dead in its tracks. The pirate's face split in a mad grin, before he jumped back with a cackling laugh. "Good! Very good! I'm happy with your resistance. The last one got his hand pierced and was deemed unfit."

Edward straightened up. Immediately he seemed to be as relaxed as ever. Anwyn scanned him for any signs of discomfort, but he seemed completely unfazed by the sudden attack.

"I understand why you choose him to be your captain. He's strong." Rainard continued his smile fading somewhat when he spotted Belos and Usagi, but coming downright grim, when his eyes fell on Anwyn. "SHE!" He exclaimed angrily. His hand twitching towards his greatsword again. "Her bounty hasn't changed since 3 years! Why are you allowing her to be part of your crew."

"She finished one of the Burton-Siblings and was the first to lay a hand on Faren." Edward replied calmly.

Rainard hesitated for second, before shaking his head. "No! That can't be! My informants have told me that she runs from marine lieutenants! Lieutenants!" He spat the word out with pure disgust and drew his sword. First now Anwyn spotted the odd shape of the blade. It had no fuller. Instead it was slightly thicker than normal, and the central ridge went from the tip of the blade down to the handguard. To either side of the central ridge were small holes, but they did not penetrate the sword, instead they seemed to lead into its insides. The holes only went up about two thirds of the blade. The last third had been forged like a normal blade, except the flamebladed form of course.

"It is the truth. My captain has seen it with his own eyes." Don Juan stated calmly. This new bit of information had Rainard hesitate again. Anwyn could see the bloodlust rage against his sanity. The tip of the blade was lowered a bit.

"And he deemed that bit of information noteworthy?" Rainard asked slyly, fixing Juan with an icy glare.

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Juan asked and put his hand on his sword.

"I accuse you of too much chivalry. There's no difference between men and women. They both bleed if I cut them and both have died by the hundreds at my hands."

Juan released his sword again and stepped back. "I ask you to think of this matter rationally. None of your subordinates would survive in a fight against you, but they made a sufficient impression on you to allow them to keep their lives. Do the same for her."

Rainard fixed Anwyn with his eyes and lowered his sword until the tip of the greatsword came to rest on the deck. "A duell. That would be interesting. Sigrun! You fight against her! Clear the lower deck. The fight will start in ten minutes."

"If I may interrupt." Edward said coolly. "As far as I know, one of your subordinates, namely Captain Drake, has a Siphon on his ship. For safety reasons he also transports a large amount of sand with him as the oil isn't extinguishable by water. My dear Anwyn here has eaten a mythical zoan devil fruit type hellhound. If she doesn't hold back there's a high chance for the ship being burnt down, if you don't cover the lower deck in sand of course."

Rainard eyed him curiously as if he wasn't sure if Edward was mocking him or not, but decided than for the latter option. "Fetch Drake's sand!" He commanded. A few deckhands jumped over to a ship which had tied itself to Rainard's ship and fetched large bags filled with fine sand. They immediately set to work and started to cover the deck with a thin layer of sand.

Anwyn turned to look at Edward who grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. Anwyn managed a half-hearted smile. Burne walked over to her and dunked her so hard on the back that she nearly hit the planks. "I'm jealous. You get to fight one of them already."

"I'm not particularly happy about that, you know." Anwyn muttered as she watched the deckhands, who were still busy putting sand on the deck.

"You'll beat him. I have faith in you." Usagi said and smiled at Anwyn, causing the younger girl to give a small chuckle.

"You guys sure have a lot of trust in me."

"All the more reason to fight with all your strength." Burne stated and ruffled Anwyn's short shaggy hair. "Show him what we're made off!"

Anwyn looked up at him. She understood very well what he meant. Burne wanted revenge for all the marines Sigrun had killed.

"Come on! Let's get this over with!" Sigrun shouted from the other side of the deck. "Bring me some booze afterwards. Slaughtering weaklings always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I want to wash it away as quick as possible." He grabbed his twin axes and walked gaze only briefly wandered over Juan, but she was sure he mouthed the word "anger". She wouldn't forget what he had said to her. Her best chance was to provoke Sigrun, so he'd forget his own defence. She held her knives low and walked up to him seemingly completely relaxed.

"If you entertain me, I will kill you less painfully than I've planned." Sigrun grinned and twirled his axes menacingly.

"I have no intentions of showing any mercy at all." Anwyn replied and activated her devil fruit. She used the food she had recently eaten to fuel her flames. The heat was enough to curl Sigrun's hair, but the pirate was unfaced by her actions and simply laughed like a madman. "Soru!" She darted forward, launching a straight attack towards his face. Sigrun simply sidestepped her blow and swung his axe down on her back. The flat shell hit Anwyn square in the back.

"Impact!" The force smashed her down on the deck and sent a cloud of sand into the air. That probably saved her life as Sigrun's next blow thudded into the planks right next to her head. The blade sunk deep into the wood. Anwyn's ears were ringing and she was disoriented. Still she landed a solid kick in Sigrun's stomach forcing him a step back. She rolled away from her opponent and got back up on her feet. Her back was hurting like hell, but she bared her teeth in an angry snarl. The fire grew hotter and her teeth became sharper and longer. Sigrun's stomach was a bit singed, but he didn't seem terribly bothered by that fact.

"Come on! That little hit barely scratched me!" She snarled raising her knives. This was all a show, a show to impress Rainard and she needed to act her part. In reality her whole body was tingling from the impact. Even her fingers were feeling numb.

Sigrun grinned and started to alternately strike the conches on the back of his axes with his weapons. "That was just a little taste. Don't you worry! You will feel more agony soon enough."

The wind had already blown away the sand, which had been thrown into the air by Sigrun's previous attack. She turned her head and realized that the ship was slowly turning. She had the wind in her back. A broad grin showed on her face. She inhaled deeply. "Smoke Screen!" She exhaled a huge amount of smoke, completely blocking Sigrun's view. "Soul Vision!" She darted forward, seeing the faint outline of Sigrun's silhouette in the smoke. The sand damped the noise of her steps, but her opponent would still be able to hear them. She darted in low, slashing at his legs. He sidestepped the attack and swung his axe. Anwyn saw the attack coming and stopped it with a punch against his arm, before he could build up any momentum. She drew back her left fist and slammed her handguard right into his lower abdomen. "HELL FIRE!" The explosion flung Sigrun back. He slammed against the stern, but didn't lose his footing. "Soru!" Again she darted forward, her knife pointed straight at Sigrun's heart. The pirate twisted his body to the side, expertly evading the attack. The blade wedged deeply into the wood. Sigrun swung his axe, but Anwyn kicked at his elbow, once again blocking his attack, before he could build up any momentum.

However, instead of flinching with pain, Sigrun grinned. He dropped one of his axes and grabbed her leg, which was still blocking his blow, forcing her off-balance. She hopped backwards trying to keep her balance, but Sigrun just yanked her up in the air, before spinning around and smashing her into the ground. Her flames immediately went out. All air was knocked out of her lungs. Sigrun grabbed her by the neck, pressing her face down into the sand. Still gasping for air Anwyn breathed in the fine particles, which sent her into a coughing fit. She struggled against Sigrun's vice-like grip, but was unable to escape. The pirate laughed and pressed her face further down into the sand.

"What you going to do now, you little shit?" he taunted and flinched back, when Anwyn suddenly transformed into her hell-hound form. Her knives dropped to the ground as her paws were unable to hold on to the grips. She spun around aiming a vicious slash with her claws at his throat. He leaned back causing her to narrowly miss him, before he slammed the back of his axe into her side. The impact dial sent Anwyn crashing into the railing. Her cracked ribs were immediately molten back together by her devil fruit. Anwyn growled from the pain.

Sigrun grinned and started to strike the back of his axes again, absorbing the impacts to charge his dials again. "Come at me little girl. I will enjoy chopping you up."

Anwyn breathed in deeply and exhaled a steady stream of smoke as response.

"This again?" Sigrun laughed. "I hear your every step, runt. I will murder you as soon as you step into striking distance.

Edward frowned. Sigrun was right. Anwyn couldn't just use the same attack pattern over and over again. If it continued like this she would lose. He hand his crew were standing on the stern, while Rainard and his subordinates where sitting at the front. A few members of Soren's crew. Don Juan however had decided to stand next to Usagi out of obvious reasons. He was flirting with the ensign, who desperately tried to keep the womanizing pirate at a distance.

Edward reached inside his jacked and pulled out a small bottle with sake. Unnoticed by everyone else two small objects fell out of his pocket as well. He fumbled with the cork and almost dropped the bottle. He cursed, then directed his attention at Anwyn against. "STEP UP YOUR GAME RUNT! I'M DONE SEEING YOU PLAYING AROUND WITH THIS WORTHLESS IDIOT!" He roared at the top of his lungs. Then took a swig out of his flask.

Anwyn stopped exhaling smoke and gave him a quick glance. Out of the smoke came a cackling laugh. "What do you mean by playing? So far she has only landed one single hit and it wasn't even a big one." Sigrun responded. The smoke was slowly being blown away revealing his form again. "While she barely has the strength to stand anymore." Accusingly he pointed with his axe at Anwyn.

"Aye, Captain!" Anwyn yelled and breathed in deeply. Edward stance tensioned ever so slightly. Now she'd bring out her stronger attacks, if she had any at all. Luck was all he could rely on now. However, he hadn't come this far without it. He grinned. "Go on!" He turned to his comrades and pumped his fist in the air. "Cheer for her, you bloody idiots!" He yelled.

Anwyn inhaled deeply and exhaled a steady stream of smoke again. This time however it was pitch black and not grey like the usual. Sigrun laughed and stood his ground in the middle of the deck. "Smoke won't do the trick, runt. No matter how thick you make it."

"Smoke screen!" Anwyn raised one hand and aimed it at the thick smoke billowing around Sigrun. "Pyroclastic Cloud!" She flicked a single spark at the smoke. As soon as it touched it, it exploded into brilliant flames. Sigrun's pained scream, was like sweet music to Edward's ears. Anwyn didn't look like she was done though. She changed into her hybrid form. Her jaw elongated and her teeth grew long and sharp. Her fingernails turned into claws and her whole form hunched over. A low-pitched growl escaped her throat as she covered her whole body in fire. "Guys..." Edward turned away from the fight and started to walk to the railing. "We should jump overboard once she unleashes that attack."

"What?" Belos looked at him surprised. "Are you sure she can do that?"

"This whole part of the ship will blow up. Trust me." Edward replied and walked over to the railing. His crew followed him somewhat hesitantly. Meanwhile Anwyn had directed all the fire to her hands. A large orb of flames was hovering between her palms. She fixed the fire with a frown and suddenly it flared up, before it was forced into a small ball no larger than pea. Sigrun, still somewhat groggy from the last attack, kept his distance from her. He clearly didn't want to get hit by anything. The pea-sized fireball floated above Anwyns right palm.

"How much more time do you need to set this up?" Sigrun asked mockingly. He had regained some confidence seeing how much time Anwyn was needing to set up this attack. As a response Anwyn aimed the flat of her hand against him.

"Incineration!" A thin ray of fire erupted from the pea-sized fireball with the speed of a flying bullet. It missed Sigrun by an inch who had jumped to the side in the last second. Instead it hit the stern of the ship. The ray of fire cut through the wood setting it aflame.

"NOW!" Edward, Usagi and Belos jumped overboard, while Omoi swung himself over onto Rainard's ship together with Enzo and Burne flew up into the air. A split second half the ship vanished in a giant fireball. Both Anwyn and Sigrun were thrown away by the shockwave. Sigrun fell into the sea, while Anwyn hit the front mast. Her ribs protested violently by sending a wave of pain through her body. She was completely shocked. Never had this attack had this effect. What had happened? There hadn't been any cannonballs stored there either. She knew that. Her thoughts were roughly interrupted as the ship started to tilt. With half of it gone it was rapidly sinking. Pirates were jumping left and right into the water and swimming to the safety of their ships. Only Rainard was still standing. Claws had grown out of his feet and were holding him to the deck. His cackling laugh echoed through the air and Anwyn could clearly see the battle-fervour raging inside him.

"We should get of the ship, little ruby." A voice suddenly whispered next to her. Don Juan had somehow managed to get close to her again and he was offering her daggers with a small mocking bow. "A most impressive display. If I may be so bold and offer this praise."

"You may." Anwyn grinned and snatched the daggers out of his hand. The ship tilted even further and Anwyn had to grab on to Don Juan to keep her balance.

"Step onto my hands." Don Juan said kneeling down a little bit, so he was able to give her a boost. "Tense your muscles!" With that he tossed her over to the Red Dread. She landed safely just as her crewmembers started to board the ship themselves.

"That was awesome!" A dripping wet Usagi cheered. "Even though you almost fried us as well." She laughed and pointed at the ship, which by now had almost sunk completely in the sea. "You absolutely wrecked it."

"I think Rainard will accept us now." Belos grinned and stepped to the side to make some space for Burne as the large marine landed on the deck.

"I sure hope so." Anwyn grinned.

"I didn't know you were that strong." Belos murmured while checking her over. Carefully his fingers moved over her ribs, causing her to flinch with pain. "Broken, but your body has already molten it back together. Third, fourth and fifth rib has been damaged. No puncture to the lung. You'll sport some bruises and try to stay out of fights for a while."

"You were absolutely marvellous." Enzo beamed, after he jumped over to their own ship again. "Awesome fight. You really kicked his ass. You should have whipped out those big guns earlier though."

"I didn't…"

"Want to sink the ship, but Sigrun left her no other choice." Edward finished the sentence.

An axe thudded into the side of the ship as Sigrun hauled himself onto the Red Dread. "I will murder that little bitch!" He growled. Parts of his skin were badly burned and the salt water didn't seem to have improved his mood either.

"You lost the fight." Edward's hand came to a rest on his gun. "And I do not remember to have given you permission to come on board."

Sigrun bared his teeth in a snarl and raised his axes. However, before he could attack Rainard called over to them. "Enough! The pupper surprised you. I didn't expect her attack to blow up half of the ship." He pointed at Edward. "You. I accept you and your crew. Come over here! I've got a mission for you and your crew."

Edward grinned at his crew, then used geppo to jump over to Rainard. Anwyn looked at her comrades while Belos was wrapping a bandage around her chest and allowed a broad smile to spread on her face. They had done it. They were now officially part of Rainard's fleet.

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 **There it finally is. An update. Next one will probably take some time as well, as my curriculum is incredibly busy.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it.**


	13. Marine Infiltration Arc Introduction

**For some reason it didn't show that I posted the last chapter. I updated the story some time in may, but somehow it didn't show it. So make sure you read that one before you read this one.**

 **So this is the introduction to the new small arc. Hope you enjoy it.**

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A few hours later they were alone on the ocean again. Juan had left with the pirate's fleet as well. Edward's meeting with Rainard hadn't taken long. Anwyn was slouching in the crow's-nest, pondering on the news Edward had brought them.

 _Flashback_

"He wants us to do what?" Burne roared. His fist connected so hard with the table that the wood could be heard cracking.

Calm as always Edward leant back in his chair. "You heard right. He wants us to steal the manoeuvring plans of the marines."

"I will not be part of such a thing! Justice needs to be done, but not on the cost of the lives of marine-soldiers, who aren't involved in any of this!" Usagi stated firmly.

Belos, Enzo and Omoi stayed quiet. However, all of them had their arms crossed and were glaring at Edward. It was obvious that they disapproved of Rainard's demand.

"Who said there has to be any bloodspill?" Edward asked.

"They will hardly hand the manoeuvre plans over to us? We're supposed to be pirates. No chance that they will give it to us out of the goodness of their hearts!" Burne growled. "Couldn't you persuade him otherwise? Anwyn beat one of his crewmembers. I thought that would suffice!"

"We thought so as well, but obviously, it doesn't." The captain of the small crew was slowly growing irate. "Don't forget, that I've done far more difficult jobs for the government. We will sneak into the marine base and steal the plans. Simple as that!"

"Simple as that!" Enzo scoffed. "And how are we going to get into a heavily guarded marine-fortress without being detected?"

"Once again you prove that you don't think very far ahead. Remember the posters? Usagi's face is half covered by one of her war fans. She will hardly be recognized if she doesn't carry her weapons around with her. I also know that our dear Belos here, is experimenting with some interesting herbs, which can rejuvenate the body for a certain amount of time."

Belos paled a bit at that piece of information. "It's still being tested. It's not ready for usage yet."

"It'll work out fine. I have information, that someone has tested it out before you. Many, many times to be in fact." Edward assured them and grinned. "Go inform Anwyn that she will have to take it once we arrive at the marine base."

"You will not use her for such experiments." Enzo snapped. "She's a human being and has gone through a lot in the past few hours. If you need someone to take this medicine, I volunteer."

"You can't. You look like a walking canvas with all those tattoos. No way that anyone will take you for a child. They'll most likely mistake you for a pyromaniac midget." Edward laughed.

"Watch it, Mercury!" Enzo growled.

"We're just the perfect dream-team, aren't we?" Omoi scoffed.

 _End Flashback_

"Burne! You will watch the ship, while Usagi and Anwyn will get into the marine-fort. Belos and I will go undercover in the town." Edward explained. "Me and Belos will take position in this restaurant here. It's called the Baracuda. If anything goes wrong we meet there. I've got a signal prepared as well. It's a green flare." He had spread a large map across the wooden table in his cabin. His fingers moved across the various roads showcasing where they needed to go. The Baracuda restaurant was about a quarter mile away from the marine ford. The marine-ford itself was built classically. A huge round tower in the middle, with cannons on the top. The tower itself was surrounded by a high wall. The main-gate was towards the town, which spread out at the bottom of the marine-ford. They would hide the ship behind the small mountain, which lay behind the marine-ford itself. "Enzo and Omoi. At the top of the mountain is a small lookout. It will consist of a small post of six marines. You need to take them out, before they can raise any alarm."

"They'll see us coming from a long way." Enzo huffed.

"I plan on hiding in the fog, which is very common in this time of the year. You two will get the life-boat and row to the coast. Take out the guards. Anwyn and Usagi will follow you as will. Belos and me will swim. We need to help Burne to set the rigging, before we disembark."

"You sure have thought of everything." Usagi said with a low voice. Impressed by all the details Edward had paid attention to.

The captain of the fake-pirate crew simply nodded. "Belos! The vial!"

The doctor nodded, looking very, very unhappy. He took out a small glass vial from the inside of his jacket and handed it to Anwyn. "Now. This should be the right amount for you. You have put on some weight and are a lot healthier now, but this will put a strain on you. Especially since you're so young. It will rearrange your complete body. You should regress to the age of around 7 years. Keep in mind that it will affect your physical prowess. You'll keep your devil-fruit abilities though." He stared Anwyn dead in the eye. "Do not under any circumstances drink it, right before you enter the marine-ford. After four hours you will start feeling sick. After another twenty minutes your body will eject the medicine. After that you will have exactly 20 minutes before you will return to normal."

"What do you mean by eject?" Anwyn asked warily.

Edward sighed. "Barf, vomit, hurl, spew, eating backwards, toss a sidewalk pizza. In short you will puke. Was that clear enough?"

"Yeah… and I don't want to take this anymore." Anwyn stated glumly, eyeing the small veil with a pout.

"You don't have a choice. Either this way or we barge our way into the marine-ford and injure countless innocents." Edward replied calmly. "Now pull yourself together. It can't be that bad."

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 **I'm sorry for these irregular updates. I have the next chapter penned out, but I'm not happy with it at all. I need to go over it.**


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